One Piece: Ace Lives
by Black' Victor Cachat
Summary: A collection of one-shots where Ace survives Marineford. Alternates between serious and humorous.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own One Piece

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Beta read by the wonderful and terrifying Karukyuu and the equally wonderful rose7anne101, who have both written much more in depth and thought-out versions of this sort of story.

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 **Given some of the responses to a certain…incident in chapter 7 of Rise from the Ashes, and out of fear of my Beta, I present to you all this brand new series! Been excellent for my own therapy writing all of this down :-)**

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Ace Lives

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Knowing what was about to happen, Ace _moved_ his body to fulfil his duty as the older brother: protect Luffy from harm at all cost, even if his own body must become a human shield.

But instead of the expected pain, his senses were instead barraged by the sound of a massive impact, as rock met steel.

Seizing the chance, Ace quickly pulled Luffy away before they turned to behold the sight of Akainu visibly straining with his fist of magma against a sword held by an elderly man, wet and slightly winded from his long and frantically fast swim.

"Rayleigh!" Luffy cried.

"Silvers Rayleigh," Akainu growled in affirmation.

"You!" Ace snarled. "What do you think you're doing coming here!?"

The Dark King was silent for a moment before answering. "I didn't know it was you. Who you were. Until Sengoku announced it to the world."

Ace just blinked in confusion.

"I didn't realize you were _that_ Portgas. I've met like nine others with that name, and they never seemed related to each other. Six with the name Monkey at that. And you were born too young, but I should've known that Rouge would pull off one more miracle."

Again the silence stretched over the battlefield as all turned to watch.

"I loved Rouge, your mother. When you're a captain's First Mate, a real one, you become like one half of their soul. Rouge…she was pretty much my sister. Whitebeard's your Father," and now a dangerous aura seemed to radiate off the old man, "but I'm here for the sake of your Mother."

Well, truthfully Rayleigh was here just as much for Roger's sake, but given the kid's loud declaration about his parenthood on the broadcast before Rayleigh started swimming, he decided to omit that detail.

"Big words from an old drunkard," Akainu spat as he leapt backwards to get some space for his magma.

"Actually, there's _two_ old drunkards," Rayleigh smirked.

Faster than anyone that size had any right to be, Whitebeard was behind Akainu with one of his patented earthquake fists, smashing it right into the admiral's spine.

Though blinded by pain for only the barest fraction of a second, it was all Rayleigh needed to cut true before Akainu could rally his thoughts to focus his own haki.

Unmoving, the fanatic fell to the ground in a spray of blood.

Without a word, Rayleigh turned to walk away, one hand pulling out his flask for a drink, while the other dragged Ace by the arm. The young man was too distracted to realize what was happening, trying to come to grips with the alien idea of someone caring about Ace for his Mother's sake, as opposed to Roger.

Recognizing his brother was having an existential crisis, and instinctively aware of how emotionally insecure Ace really was, Luffy stayed quiet. Stopping only to exchange a firm nod of understanding with Whitebeard, before tagging along after them.

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With a scream the traitorous Teach plunged downwards into the chasm to drown like a rat.

Smirking, Whitebeard turned to those who had allied with 'Blackbeard.' "Well," he growled, "who's next!?"

Not having to fight Akainu alone had done wondrous things for his health, what with how his braincase was still fully intact and all.

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"Rayleigh, why was Ace left with Gramps then? Why not you?"

The old man was silent for a moment at Luffy's question, while Ace stopped his own drinking as he and his crew mourned for their Father. Finally, "While you're on your voyage to become Pirate King, you'll discover and see many things along the way. Some of which you prefer to have never know. Roger learned even more than me, and in a way it changed him. Perhaps he learnt something in particular that made him think that Garp was the best one to care for Ace. But truthfully? We'll never know. That is left for the dead."

Luffy nodded in understanding before turning his attention back to his dinner, before a thought struck him and he wrapped himself all over Ace. "If Ace hadn't been sent to Gramps, then we'd have never met!" he gasped, voice tight with emotion.

Straining to breath, Ace got out with all his heart. "And I might never have ended up with my Pops and crew! Then I'd've really been in hell!" he said.

"AAAAAAACE!" Luffy happily sobbed, rubbing his teary face into the side of Ace's head while the manly Whitebeard Pirates fought to hold in their own tears.

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 **Author Notes:  
To anyone who is unhappy with my explanation at the end, please, please give me a better reason for Roger to not hide his son with his powerful and trusted best friend. Or others he knew for that matter… Yes, there are some decent ones, but none that really 'click.' **

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own One Piece

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Beta read by the wonderful and terrifying Karukyuu and the equally wonderful rose7anne101, who have both written much more in depth and thought-out versions of this sort of story.

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Ace Lives

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Knowing what was about to happen, Ace _moved_ his body to fulfil his duty as the older brother: protect Luffy from harm at all cost, even if his own body must become a human shield.

But his body had sustained too much abuse, beyond what even his logia powers could just wish away. Teach had left him beaten him to within an inch of death, since both the traitor and later the marines had agreed it was safer to keep him that way. The guards at Impel Down had 'cleaned' him up with boiling water, and had then proceeded to try and elicit a response out of him via torture. They had failed, but Ace's body was now too weak at a crucial moment.

Fortunately however, someone else had made it there.

"Who're you," Akainu growled at the duo who had thrown themselves before his fist of magma, one in front of the other, each taking the damage upon themselves to save the cursed Son of Dragon.

"I'm Sue Mary!" gasped out the girl, despite the hole through her chest.

"And I'm Sue Gary!" her twin brother answered, also spotting mortal wounds. "We're Luffy and Ace's other step-siblings!"

"Yeah, we've been with them since childhood!"

 _Liars_ , Ace thought, but for once kept it to himself. The two of them had stalked him, Sabo, and Luffy across Dawn Island regardless of whatever the trio had tried to do. Even Luffy – _Luffy!_ — had found them too creepy to hang around.

Luffy had never called them by nicknames or anything, only their full names –surname and given name— to try and put a shield up between them and himself. Unless Ace or Sabo were present, Luffy also tended to run as fast as possible from them and their speeches about how they could help him –like babbling about how Luffy was really a genius, but that would only be revealed if he stopped having _fun_ and _worked_ to improve his mind…idiots— to try and find some peace and quiet. _Well, I mean, dangerous animals and potential food. Or a place to sleep_ , Ace admitted to himself.

"From the very beginning we knew they had the potential to change the world if given the chance, if more mature and wiser people were there to help guide them," one was nattering while Ace snuck up behind them to grab Luffy.

"They just needed more love and attention," the other agreed. "That way they'll be able to fulfill the destiny of their secretive clan that they know nothing about, and change the world for the better!"

"Shouldn't we do something," Luffy whispered. He was clearly caught between being grateful for Mary and Gary, and running even faster from Akainu and…Them. Even the Whitebeard Pirates were edging away, sensing something _wrong_ about the twins.

"We'll toast a drink of beer to remember them later," Ace promised as they continued to head to safety.

"I thought I wasn't allowed to drink alcohol," his little brother –his real one, unlike those stalker, nutjobs— pointed out.

Ace actually stumbled at that, repressed memories trying to break through. The toast of sake where he, Sabo, and Luffy had become brothers, was his fondest memory. He had also gone to considerable effort to forget what Luffy was like if he had even a single drop of alcohol within him. They had been fortunate –fortunate!— that Garp of all people had shown up, and had been able to subdue Luffy until it was all over.

(The Straw Hats were always very, very careful to make sure Luffy only got the fake stuff)

(Yes, even now when he was a man and a notorious pirate captain in his own right. If anything, it only made him even more dangerous to be around if drunk…)

And so Ace and Luffy escaped Marineford while Akainu was busy dealing with an evil far more loathsome than some mere pirate, one that once it got ahold of you was all but impossible to shake off!

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 **Author Notes:**

 **In case it is not obvious, I am rarely a fan of OCs. I do however recommend these One Piece sibling OC stories, in defiance of what I put above; "** **Moby Dick's New Residents** **"** **and "Anchor and Compass," both by rose7anne101.**

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own One Piece

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Beta read by the wonderful and terrifying Karukyuu and the equally wonderful rose7anne101, who have both written much more in depth and thought-out versions of this sort of story.

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Ace Lives

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Knowing what was about to happen, Ace _moved_ his body to fulfil his duty as the older brother: protect Luffy from harm at all cost, even if his own body must become a human shield.

But instead of the expected pain, all he heard was a sound that reminded him of that time he had smashed his foot through a watermelon. Yet as far as Ace could tell, he was still alright.

Seizing the chance, Ace quickly pulled Luffy away before they turned to behold the sight of Akainu, headless, slowly falling to his knees and then to the ground. Above his corpse, fist still held straight out, was Monkey D. Garp.

"No more," ground out Garp the Fist, the Hero.

"You're rubber and fire, you'll live." Before either pirate could decipher his words, they were literally in his grasp as Garp hauled back and threw them away from him.

"GRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAMMMPPSSSSS!"

As if he had just patted the boys on the shoulder and waved them off as they went off to the grocery store, Garp turned to walk back towards the marines.

As his conviction faltered and died, Garp's coat with the symbol of Justice proudly emblazoned upon it, slipped from his shoulders and wafted into the wind.

"I don't need help from any old men," Whitebeard growled as Garp came up beside him, before suddenly doubling over in pain.

Eyes shadowed over his snarling teeth, Garp twisted his fist deeper against the Emperor's side. "I'm not here to help some stinking pirate! I'm here to help my grandsons!"

With that, Garp threw Whitebeard into the air too. Coincidently in the same direction that he had sent those idiot brats in. Yes, just a coincidence. Honest.

While his former brothers in arms were still trying to figure out what was happening, he got to work. Vice-Admiral Onigumo was the first to fall to the Fist, with Doberman, another believer of Absolute Justice, following him.

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"But Ace, Gramps wanted us to get away!" Luffy begged.

"We can't just leave him and Pops like this!" Ace yelled.

They had landed upon one of the Navy ships that Whitebeard's allies had hijacked, with a skeleton crew being left behind in case a quick escape was needed.

Like right now.

Not that any of them could get a word in as the two brothers argued.

"Luffy, you get out of here, I'll—"

Any further words were cut off as Whitebeard crashed down atop of Ace.

Luffy blinked at the two groaning men, one too badly injured to move anymore, and the other too weak to heave the mountainous weight off of him, especially since he dimly knew it would only aggravate his Father's wounds.

Straw Hat turned to the assembled pirates, "We're the three they want the most, so we should probably get out of here while we can."

"Yes sir!"

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It was with dark delight that Garp slew Blackbeard, the insolent punk who had beat his grandson half to death, and had manipulated this entire bloodbath. Whitebeard would have died on his own in a few more years, but this degenerate had deliberately sparked this conflict by publicly handing Ace over to the marines before someone like Garp or Sengoku could keep things quiet.

The status quo that had kept the world at peace had been threatened by this scum, yet now he was but a corpse.

Quickly Garp leapt away, narrowly avoiding Aokiji, who froze over Blackbeard's lackeys with his landing, before continuing in his pursuit.

"Guess even if you hated them, you can't sit back while I kill your fellow marines, aye greenhorn?" Garp growled.

"'Fraid not," Aokiji grimly agreed.

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In Sabaody, the audience was dumbstruck, while news offices from across the globe were fruitlessly screaming at their reporters to tell them what was happening.

What the Den-Den Mushi was showing the world.

The image of the World Government's greatest hero, committing the ultimate act of treason.

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Panting for breath, Garp knew it was over.

His right arm was stump, his fist _shattered_ after a combo by Aokiji and Sengoku.

Neither Garp nor his old friend had exchanged a single word during this vicious fight, there had been no need. Sengoku knew perfectly well why Garp had done it, and in turn the latter was well aware that there was no forgiveness for what he had done. Not that he resented Senny for it, if their roles had been reversed, if the Fleet Admiral had been trying to rescue that boy of his – _Rocinante, wasn't it?_ —, then it would have been Garp in Senny's place.

Still, he had won. The pirates had too much of a head start, and Garp's sheer might had created crevices that had fractured Marineford, cutting off the marines' advance. The vice-admiral had been well aware of all of the various tunnels and routes throughout the island after all.

Cautiously, Kizaru limped forward, both index fingers raised as he prepared to fire again. The admiral's foot was nothing but broken bones after a failed attempt to match his kick against Garp's punch.

Seeing the threat, Garp let Doflamingo's limp body drop from his left hand. Moriah and PX-0 had already been disposed of, but Hawkeye and Hancock had been smarter and made themselves scarce. The Heavenly Demon had been Garp's objective however, trying to balance the scales. It was probably just an old man's foolish hope, but with Kaido, the most aggressive of the pirate Emperors, denied Doflamingo's support, it might mean that the status quo to the New World, and thus the rest of the planet, might still be maintained. Whitebeard would be weakened, and Big Mom was a wild card in this, but with Shanks it might be possible to keep the world from collapsing into outright war a little longer. Just a little longer…

The giant gold form of the Buddha shrank back down to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who shot Garp a knowing look. He knew exactly what his old friend had meant to do.

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Garp finally spoke, the formality making clear that he understood their friendship was now irrevocably over, "you can't stop it."

All of the marines stopped at this, while both Kizaru and Aokiji waited just behind and to the side of their fleet admiral.

"Their sparks continue to burn, and as the years go by the tension that is boiling unseen across the world continues to mount. You and I, we did whatever we could to let the pressure off, keeping things from bursting apart, but we, _you_ , can't handle it much longer."

Sengoku opened his mouth to speak, but then paused as he looked into Garp's eyes. _Does he know?_ the fleet admiral wondered.

"Yeah, I know," Garp smirked as old companionship gave him a window into the man's mind. "I've always known.

"The legacy and will that has been passed down from ancient times. That in the future, someday, somebody will appear with all of that history on their shoulders, ready to challenge the whole world to a fight. That it will spread into a war that will threaten to consume all of the nations that we've guarded for so long, destroying everything we've fought for.

"And we both know, that that day will come sooner rather than later."

It was with horror that Sengoku stared at Garp now, and if either man had known that the whole world was watching, what happened next may have gone differently.

"Because we both know," and Garp cocked back his remaining fist as he prepared to charge, "THAT THE ONE PIECE, IS REAL!"

With a blur of motion, Garp threw himself at the remaining admirals and the fleet admiral with a grin upon his face.

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"Gramps," Ace sobbed as he cried with Luffy alongside of him.

"Even in the old days, he was an enemy to respect," Whitebeard blurrily muttered as his medical staff stabbed him with more syringes the size of a spear into him.

"He wanted us to live, to be free," Luffy whispered.

"And we will," Ace promised.

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 **Author Notes:**

 **Many people, are disappointed in Garp's behaviour at Marineford. I still tried to keep this balanced however. And yes, that last speech of his is based off of Whitebeard's, but I tried to keep it to something Garp would say.**

 **And yes, Oda said that so long as the marines stay true to Justice in their hearts, the coats will never fall from the shoulders**

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 **Please Review and I will get back to you!**


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own One Piece

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Beta read by the wonderful and terrifying Karukyuu and the equally wonderful rose7anne101, who have both written much more in depth and thought-out versions of this sort of story.

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Ace Lives

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"Is everything operational?" Vice-Admiral Tsuru asked into her miniature Den-Den Mushi. Given Whitebeard's brilliant infiltration right into the middle of the bay, Aokiji had been forced to freeze the water while countering the Emperor's attacks, which could have disastrous consequences if the ice reached down far enough to reach the containment wall. The machinery and electronics meant to raise the massive and secret fortification had never been tested like this after all.

She dared not even say what they were talking about lest Whitebeard's people intercepted it, but she had dialed the room specifically to reduce the risk.

"Yes ma'am. Everything is operational."

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"Yes ma'am. Everything is operational." The marine dutifully put down the Den-Den Mushi, his eyes oblivious to what was surrounding him: the complete and utter wreckage of all the machinery necessary for the Navy to entrap the pirates.

Beside him, 'Soul King' Brook continued to play his hypnotizing ballad, while Pedro of the Treetops did a clinical inspection of the damage. The duo were feeling nostalgic about infiltrating an unassailable fortress once more together, although Pedro rather enjoyed having his restored lifespan and both eyes this time.

(Luffy refused to acknowledge any debt for the former, as had Princess Mansherry with her Heal-Heal Fruit powers.)

Around them, the dwarves of the Fifth Division of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet were standing to attention, while the Sun Pirates were doing the same in a more relaxed pose. The fishmen had been instrumental to this, cutting into the facility's walls from outside and underwater within the bay, allowing the sabotage to occur directly, while the dwarves literally stripped the marines dry of their equipment, and then turned towards helping to tear apart the gears and electronics.

Pedro had dealt with the few guards who were actually a hassle, while Brook hypnotized the rest.

Seriously, the Straw Hats were looking forward to paying a visit to Hody Jones after this, seeing what he and his band's ramblings about how "Fishmen are superior" with "strength from the heavens" thought about being beaten up by minks and dwarves!

Speaking of which…

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Whitebeard stiffened, with his Division Commanders swiftly following suit as moments later Neptunians burst out of the sea in a circle around them and Marineford.

Massive monsters of the sea, dozens of them, each large enough to swallow a Navy battleship whole.

Their Queen had summoned them to this place at behest of her King. The King of the Seas.

The Pirate King.

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"W-what is this!?" Ace gasped as he took in the sight, while even Sengoku was starting to sweat. _Could it be? Did Whitebeard find that Weapon!?_

Then he flinched.

A massive, terrifying power was approaching…from the air!?

Flying through the sky, the _Thousand Sunny_ , its Straw Hat Jolly Roger proudly flying, sped down towards Marineford, aiming for the town behind and to the left of the execution platform.

Seconds before impact, a one-eyed man with three swords and green hair leapt down to the ground underneath the ship, and spun his blades in a circle. The blast of air he created checked its fall, and with such perfect control the cushion of wind even had the ship pointing towards the defending army with pin-point precision as it settled down gently as a lover's kiss.

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"That's the Straw Hat Jolly Roger," Marco the Phoenix drawled. "If he's got a brother's complex as bad as Ace's, it makes sense he's here, but what's with this haki?"

"Far stronger than I'd've expected," Whitebeard growled in agreement, wondering how this new player would fit into their plans.

"And what's with that fleet he's brought with him?" Jozu added, pointing back towards the mouth of the bay.

Behind the dozens of ships allied to Whitebeard, even more were appearing out of the fog. Ship after ship, and while some had their own individual Jolly Roger, they all included the flag of the Straw Hat.

"No seriously, what's going on!?" Izo demanded. "There's no way that some snot nosed rookie just making a name for himself in Paradise managed to pull all this together! I mean, we'd have heard _something_! The _marines_ would've heard something! What the—"

He broke off, starring ahead while his crewmates glanced at him in confusion, trying to get a clue as to what had thrown him off.

"…Is that one flying _our_ Jolly Roger too?" keen-eyed Izo flatly asked.

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"…Luffy," Ace whispered, knowing, just knowing, that his reckless little brother had gotten himself into something _deep_. Whatever it was however, was utterly beyond Ace's imagination.

"GARP!" Sengoku thundered, seeing that Fire First was as lost as he was. "Explain!"

The only response the old man gave was his jaw dropping a couple more inches in gaping and growing disbelief.

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Whitebeard was little better off.

A mysterious fleet had appeared out of nowhere, Neptunians were amassing but letting the newcomers through, and a power that even an Emperor had to tread cautiously around was now less than a kilometer away from Ace.

To top it all off, there was a _second_ Marco wrapped around his chest and sobbing his heart out.

All of the Division Commanders just dully stared at the Marco doppelganger who was crying away and trying to say something coherent while Whitebeard gently patted one of the terrors of the New World on the back.

It was clearly Marco, no one could fake either a haki signature that well, or the form of his Devil Fruit as he flew up to them, but something was definitely off here.

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From behind their appropriated binoculars, Luffy, Ivankov, Jinbe, Crocodile, and Buggy were all just blinking in confusion atop one of the ice glaciers that Aokiji had turned a wave into.

"I'm pretty sure that's Zoro," Luffy finally said. Normally by this point he would have noticed all those ships stealing _his_ flag, or have stars in his eyes at his First Mate's awesome performance, but right now he was too confused to do either. "But he somehow a lot stronger now than just a little while ago. A _lot_ stronger. And the _Thousand Sunny_ looks different too. Like Franky's made some changes."

A delicate cough made them all turn around to see a giant, bipedal dog in their presence. One leg was a prosthetic, but all five leaders of the Impel Down jailbreak instinctively knew that he was still a Power in his own right.

"My apologies for interrupting you. I am Duke Dogstorm, and I've been asked to escort you down below. Preferably in a way that doesn't involve falling down to the ice below."

 **-0-0-0-**

"Everyone's on edge," the giant vice-admiral Lacroix declared. "We've got to show them that there's nothing to be afraid of!"

As one the eight members of the giant squad hefted up their weapons and roared their battle cries.

As if in answer, eight massive arms smashed through the ice and out of the sea water, each larger than any of the giants. Ruthlessly, the hands grabbed each of the might warriors, and pulled them down under the water and out of sight.

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Inside the control room, Robin's copy frowned as she dealt with the giants, ignoring the slight drain from forming her arms underwater. _This is our Captain's hour, they shouldn't have made such noise._

Knowing her victims were still tough enough to survive their fates, Robin returned to her original business as she took one more look around the control room for the Gate of Justice, making sure that everything was thoroughly smashed, and that the Gates were locked open.

It had been tempting to just close them, leaving Blackbeard trapped within the Tub Current, but, like a cockroach, everyone had suspected he would survived even that.

No, they wanted him to come through and see what was waiting for him.

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Queen Vinismoke Reiju looked at her brothers, her _true_ brothers, with exasperation and fondness. Her fellow Division Commanders of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet were chomping at the bit to assault Navy HQ and save their King's brother, but they were running into a serious logistical issue:

The island of Marineford was too small.

On top of the hundred thousand marines already tightly packed in there, they had nearly another hundred thousand pirates at their command, elite warriors one and all; but they could not feasibly funnel every single one of them into the island without bunching them together so tightly it could turn into a tactical disaster if anything went wrong.

And that did not even get into the issue of the Sixth Division, which was essentially the entirety of the unified warrior tribes of Elbaf, homeland of the giants. Where were they going to put the thousands of just them!?

On the other hand, it would be hilarious to send only Hajrudin and his men after the marines. During the battle for Wano, they had found the Snow-Snow Logia Fruit, and Luffy had given it to his eager friend, creating the first giant Logia user in history. A casual remark from their young leader however that the previous wielder could fly, had led Trafalgar Law to volunteer to attach dragon wings to Hajrudin's back. They had had enough lying around after all after Nico Robin slaughtered the former Shogun of Wano's entire air fleet of them with her Gigantesco Mano Dragon Claw attack.

Giants able to fly with dragon wings on their backs was quite terrifying, and Reiju thought it would be fun to watch them storm Marineford on their own.

Alas, the others would want a turn too in attacking the Navy HQ, leading them to debate over whether or not to draw lots, or have a rotational system where some divisions would attack and then retreat for their comrades to then advance. Personally, she was okay either way.

 **-0-0-0-**

Trafalgar D. Law was whistling as he walked up behind Doflamingo, who had his back turned to look at the arrival of Straw Hat-ya and his merry/crazy band.

Not that 'Mingo' could hear Law of course, thanks to Bepo's use of the Calm-Calm Fruit, one of the _very_ few Law would tolerate to possess it. _Watch this, Corazon! You can rest knowing the nightmare will end even sooner!_

Behind him, Hancock headed towards her younger counterpart for a quick talk, while Kidd lead the rest of the survivors of the Worst Generation towards the (metal!) Kuma and Moriah.

 **-0-0-0-**

Marines screamed and begged as the heavens turned against them, against Justice.

Javelins of lightning and tornado spears struck down to sink and destroy what Navy vessels were present, while the massive cannon batteries were similarly torn apart.

And then it stopped as suddenly as it began.

Meanwhile, an invisible woman and a reindeer doctor made their way to the execution platform. There was a certain person about to be rescued who was in need of some medical attention. Along with a few sedatives to make him a more cooperative patient.

 **-0-0-0-**

Some might think that raiding all of the food pantries on Marineford was beneath the dignity of such elite warriors, but Raizo of the Mist and his fellow Wano ninja knew otherwise. The Pirate King would be expecting a massive feast after this.

Yet even with this enormous stock of food, and all of the supply ships, they might not be able to pull it off! They had another King in the making to feed after all!

It was almost unfortunate that Neptunians were off the menu once they realized the largest were intelligent.

 **-0-0-0-**

Zoro flexed his arms as he took off his top to reveal muscular arms and scars that could have made (almost) any woman, or man for that matter, swoon for him. 'Black Leg' –"Who called me Vinismoke!? I'll kill them!"— Sanji lit his diamond encrusted cigarette, the only sign of wealth he permitted himself, with even his suit being of a fine yet inexpensive quality. For his part, Jinbe merely stroked his beard.

They were all familiar with the rules of the game: Zoro would take Hawkeye (with a half-second head start to account for the extra distance), Sanji had Kizaru, and Jinbe got to deal with Aokiji.

Whoever finished their opponent first, got to beat up Akainu.

After all, their Captain had more important things to do than engage himself in such trivial fights. For instance, enjoy the growing confusion and disbelief as the party crashers continued to work their magic. Or keep an eye on the greater strategic picture. Heck, the three men would cheerfully (and honestly) tell the Admirals that _cloud-watching_ was a greater priority to their leader!

 **-0-0-0-**

With infinite care, Usopp made hair's breadth adjustments to the equipment of the Gao Cannon Mark VII.

It had started its life based off of the main gun of Pluton, but after some examinations, Franky had decided he could rebuild it with a more efficient and destructive potential. Then he had married it with Vegapunk's own genius designs that he had also reverse engineered and enhanced. Finally he had attached it to his patented cola based power source that was as environmentally friendly as it was terrifying.

The prodigious progeny was even more horrifying than all of them together.

Three-quarters of the technology surrounding Usopp right now within the gunner's station, was to keep even their own allies from realizing that the shot that had blasted a passage straight through the _Red Line_ was only _10%_ of its true power!

Only someone like Usopp could use it safely, and right now he was carefully adjusting both the radius of the blast, and its power, as it lay pointed towards the assembled marines.

 **-0-0-0-**

The Pirate King stood upon the lion figurehead of his ship, ruler of the beasts, free to do as he pleased, and calmly taking in the actions of all those before his superior vantage point.

That was the _Sunny_ 's figurehead, the actual Captain was much less regal in appearance.

A massive burn scar adorned Monkey D. Luffy's exposed chest, and there was an edge to his posture and gaze that any experienced fighter would recognize as one who had learnt to always be alert for any attack, be it by man or nature. There was also a flicker of maturity that would have made anyone close to his counterpart in this timeline pause, and wonder why they felt regret over the dimming of his childlike nature.

Despite this, there was a joy and love of life that his countless hardships had been unable to touch. Seeing the world for all of its wonders had only left him hungering for more.

Was it any wonder that after conquering the seas, he would turn to conquering _time_ itself?

And it was always best to bring along a few friends while on a trip.

Sure, they would be going up and down the timeline, fixing things, and then fixing whatever they got wrong, but it would not be boring! They could always do it all over again…

 **-0-0-0-**

Dully, Garp handed Ace the barrel of booze, which his idiot grandson automatically drunk down. The massive party was taking place on the Sabaody Archipelago after the _annihilation_ of Marineford.

Luffy, their Luffy –the Pirate King had been quite firm about that, noting that they were different people—was busy having a fun spar against one of the minks, while everyone else around them was dancing their heads off or getting drunk. "Storm Queen" Nami was busy defending her title as Drinking Champion against several giants, while "Iron Man" Franky, "God" Usopp, and "Monster Doctor" Chopper were doing brain surgery on Kuma in the middle of an open field, trying to bring back his memories or something, while "Surgeon of Death" Law had Whitebeard's _heart_ in his hand while fixing it up under the watchful eyes of two Marco's.

Ace had no idea where the rest of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet executive officers were, and he rather suspected it was best for his sanity.

Still, it felt good to be alive, and great to know how loved he was. Loved enough to tear a path through time itself.

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **This is sort of an accumulation of time travel stuff I would like to do, but could never find a realistic enough story to make it work. Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

"What do you mean we've lost contact with Sentomaru and the Pacifista!?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku snarled.

"Sir! They haven't responded to any of our attempts at communication! Sir!" the marine obediently barked out.

"That doesn't make any sense," Sengoku growled. "All of Whitebeard's allies are safely here as planned, and we put them in the best submarine we could get, to go beneath the tsunamis!" _And Marineford doesn't have any Sea Kings around it either, that's one of the reasons Navy HQ is here. So what's going on? They should have already attacked!_

 **-0-0-0-**

Aladine, Vice-Captain of the Sun Pirates –or Fishman Pirates, as most humans called them— gave the sinking submarine a final glance. The skeleton crew and fat human had been safely evacuated, but he suspected Whitebeard would appreciate not having to deal with those multiple copies of 'Tyrant' Bartholomew Kuma.

"Alright then," he said to the rest of the crew, "let's get to it."

There were dozens of them of all shapes and sizes, veterans of the New World where they had maintained their fearsome reputations by taking down the vicious pirates of that region. The scum who thought they were powerful, ruthless, and audacious enough to survive without the protection of an Emperor.

Even more strikingly, the Sun Pirates had emerged victorious –except in cases of immediate self-defense— without taking the lives of their foes, as their dearly mourned Captain and Brother Fisher Tiger would have wanted.

"You know," one swordsman with four arms and four blades commented as they all swam to Marineford, "I still can't believe the Marines aren't expecting something like this. I mean, they never gave us the protection or hope Whitebeard ever did!"

Six measly words: " **This island is under my protection!** "

But that single sentence had granted their people more rights, security, respect, and most of all, hope, than the World Government had ever done in centuries.

"And they locked away Jinbe!" another snarled. "You don't mess with a crew's Captain!"

"Or at least you don't mess with the captain of crew that'd follow him into the darkest, foulest depths and back," one nitpicker amended. "Which we would, of course."

"But enough about how messy your room is," joked another.

"Stay alert," Aladine calmly cut in. "We don't want to get caught with our pants down like the marines," his own lips quirking as everyone smirked at his little joke. A merman talking about pants! Hah!

 **-0-0-0-**

Whitebeard was feeling a little edgy right now, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Almost seventy years of fighting had honed his instincts razor sharp, and this was not the first time Whitebeard had brazenly sauntered into a trap with one of his Son's as a hostage. Each and every time he had found his whatever scheme it was…and left behind an example that had shocked the world white.

Yet this was _Sengoku_ he was facing here. An uncontested genius, who, along with Tsuru the Great Tactician, would have planned for Marineford to be the Emperor's grave. Whitebeard knew his own power and trump cards still had a good chance of seizing the day, but so far all Sengoku was doing was sending wave after wave of his marines at Whitebeard's Sons. Not only was that unimaginative, it was wasteful. _No, Sengoku's ruthless enough to sacrifice them all without hesitation, but he'd never do it without a_ reason. _Something that would placate both his men and whatever his conscience whimpers at him while he sleeps._

 _No, Sengoku's got to have some trump card up his sleeve, so where is it?_

 **-0-0-0-**

"I don't understand what's wrong!" the mechanic moaned even as he kept trying to get the machinery to work.

"Well fix it," a senior officer uselessly snarled. "We need the enclosure wall working if we're going to kill the Whitebeard Pirates!"

Whatever else the man was about to yell was cut off as a screeching sound deafened the room. All across the walls they caught sight of sword tips cutting through the metal to carve out triangles and squares. With terrifying synchronization in popped what were now doors, followed by beings of all colours of the rainbow, two limbs or more, all hybrids between man and creatures of the sea.

"Fishmen!" gasped out the marine, dimly note how there was no water pouring into the base, and that there appeared to be bubbles of air behind the invaders. Then a sword hilt hit his head, sending him to dreamland.

"Piece of advice," one Sun Pirate said not unkindly to the hapless mechanic, "next time build _all_ of your walls as tough as the enclosure wall."

"Y-you sabotaged it from un-underwater!" he gasped.

"Got it in one," he smiled, showing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

 **-0-0-0-**

Sengoku was sweating now at the lack of appearance of their secret shock troops _and_ their little trump card. They had been in contact with the engine room, but the voice on the other end assured the Fleet Admiral that they were doing everything possible, and that they believed the ice Aokiji had made was simply too thick.

An unfortunate weakness with the Ice-Ice Fruit was that unlike other logia fruits it did not give the user much control over what they created or was pre-existing.

 **-0-0-0-**

Aladine was blinking in shock at the Den-Den display in front of them, showing how their beloved Captain Jinbe was _not_ still locked up in Impel Down, but was instead fighting in the thick of the Battle for Marineford, having just reached the plaza alongside what he dimly recognized as that hotshot rookie, Straw Hat Luffy.

The very same man who had taken out Arlong, and revealed that that he _had_ broken Captain Tiger's last request. Covering up his atrocities, his _slavery_ , by bribing marines.

"Well, that's a surprise!"  
"That _is_ the guy whose crew took out Arlong and the others, right?"

"You know it."

"Well, Jinbe did say he wanted to meet him, guess he got his wish."

"Yeah, but how? How's the kid even here? Jinbe was locked up in Impel Down."  
"Look, there's some pirates in prison uniforms, you don't think…?"

"Well, if anyone could break out of that prison, it'd be the Boss!"

"Oooh boy, the Boss' going to have a pretty awesome story about this one!" chortled one of the crew.

Snapping to attention, Aladine hefted his trident. "Alright then, let's finish our job! Fast!"

Elite crew that would sail the seas of the New World or not, they knew that they needed something else to turn the tide, hence all of the heavy machinery they had brought and had been feverishly working on.

Even more deliciously, this was something that members of the crew had been forced to do as slaves –given their natural abilities—for agonizing years; albeit, in reverse.

 **-0-0-0-**

"We've got no choice," Akainu growled. "Kizaru, with me!"

Sighing, the other admiral advanced as well, while Aokiji remained behind to guard the execution platform and so as to not overcommit their forces.

The wave of pirates in the bay had nearly reached where the Containment Wall was supposed to have been, while the pirates flanking on the sides were taking out the fortification cannons –particularly the ones that were supposed to be firing on the Whitebeard Pirate crew itself— and defenders with bloody glee.

For all their conviction, it was clear that the valiant marines were losing if something did not change.

Thus, it was desperately clear that it was time for the Government's Ultimate Powers to make their move. Yes, the unfavourable circumstances meant they would not be able to achieve the maximum amount of slaughter, and risked over-extending themselves while the battle was still in flux, but they had to take a stand to turn the tide. Justice would never be defeated!

Raising his arms, Akainu erupted with a wave of molten boulders to rain down on the pirates, while Kizaru started kicking out his stronger laser beams.

The fuselage stunned parts of the pirates' charge, especially with the holes in the ice, but this only spurred them on even more desperately to reach the unblocked harbor. Straw Hat Luffy and Jinbe had already reached there, along with several Division Commanders, barely kept from advancing further by the vice-admirals who had been repositioned to stop them.

 _This is getting messy_ , Aokiji knew. _And messy won't work here. We thought this would work because of our tactics and home ground advantage to control the confrontation on_ our _terms, and not to mention our secret weapons, but now we're trying to take down the World's Strongest Man with just blunt force._

Covertly he took in the battlefield with his eyes and haki, trying to help Sengoku take in the big picture so that they would not lose track of what was happening. _Don't want to get caught up in the small stuff and get blindsided._

Then over the din of battle he heard something.

 _Rumbling? Water? What?_

Across the area before the execution platform, patches of pavement collapsed inwards to form holes that the marines all just stared at dully. "Is that from the rooms underneath?" one hesitantly asked.

Water.

Rivers of it.

Sea water.

It came bursting out of the holes in powerful jets that flooded the Navy's position in a manner of seconds, even if only a little above ankle level.

Hancock leapt upon her pet snake Salome who carried her to high ground. Hawkeye followed suit nearby, having agreed to fight Whitebeard but not to getting his boots messed up. Did they have no appreciation how hard it was to keep ones as comfortable as these in good condition!?

The only reason Moria was not drowning, was because he was so fat that his girth kept his head above the waterline as he limply laid there.

Marines surged to keep their comrades with Devil Fruits above water, while fighting against the rushing current.

Except for the Admirals.

Aokiji at least had realized the danger in time, and was now resting atop of the execution platform, his powers worse than useless since if he even _touched_ the water now, all their men wadding through the water would be immobilized. Even creating lines of ice for them to hold onto was risky given the current and how _ice cold_ water would sap at even normal humans. His colleagues were not so fortunate.

So focused on hammering the pirates, Kizaru and Akainu's response times were diminished just enough for them to be caught and stumble forward, their intimidating natures and attacks having assured that their subordinates had given them plenty of space.

But Borsalino and Sakazuki were _Admirals_.

Despite facing the universal fear of all Devil Fruit users, the energy sapping force of nature that threatened the drag them down into a warm embrace that would sweep away all concerns and life, they did not fall. Borsalino made an aborted attempt to jump out of the water so his Devil Fruit Powers would let him float, but he could not fully break out of the water, leading him to join Sakazuki. While still stumbling and hobbling a bit as they struggled against the growing drain, they were moving at an impressive pace towards the marines rushing to help them.

" **Gum-Gum Jet Gatling!** "

Like a wolf after the jugular, Monkey D. Luffy stuck at two of the greatest threats to saving Ace, hammering the duo into the rushing water, and even with such strength that they were being driven even into the pavement to sink them lower.

Behind him, Jinbe unleashed the full terror of his power upon the vice-admirals and regular marines, swamping them all. While the Whitebeard Pirate Division Commanders secured a beachhead inside the plaza, and kept an eye on the remaining Admiral, who could still take them all out with his ice, if he was also willing to sacrifice the rest of his troops.

Coming down, Luffy's flight brought himself down on the red suited admiral who he had seen killing so many with such big attacks. While he disliked the yellow guy more, he sensed that the other one was who he should be the most warry of. Staying afloat upon the man as he fought for each gasp of air, Luffy unleashed blow after blow in Second Gear, driving the supernaturally tough man closer and closer into unconsciousness, Sakazuki's black armour of Haki flickering up only intermittently. _I need to break their concentration some other way_ , Luffy realized.

Knowing the best way to get someone's attention, he took in a massive breath and—

" **MEAT!** " he screamed right in the man's ear, making him drop right into the water, just as more pirates swarmed up, yammering about how some marine named Onigumo had dropped sea prism shackles when the water had hit him, and now the pirates were clapping those same restraints onto the red admiral guy.

While the Whitebeard Pirates had Devil Fruit users, amongst the Division Commanders they were in the minority. Those endangered by the water had pulled back to coordinate the rest of their men, while those without such problems with the water were fighting their way forward against the current. Yet despite this challenge, they could clearly smell victory.

Out of the holes burst the Sun Pirates, rallying to their Captain and lending their own Fishman Karate to the War, their water based abilities decisively turning the tide.

"Captain!" they all roared with joy.

"Sorry we're late, sir," another fishman added.

"Navy HQ has this great tourist shop we had to stop by first."

"But seriously, we're glad you're okay!"

"Saves us from having to hit Impel Down next to free you."

"Pity, I wanted us to be the first to break in and out from the unbreakable prison. We would have been so cool."

"Shows why he's the Captain, he anticipated us! Ha ha!"

"Aladine! All of you!" Jinbe called out in surprise. "You pumped sea water directly into Navy HQ!?"

"They've got all these tunnels and buildings going deep into the islands foundation," Aladine explained to his Captain, "including below sea level."

Jinbe chortled, knowing how in the past many Celestial Dragons had wanted little viewing areas underwater, even in their own palaces, and had forced their fishmen slaves to work underwater to pump out the water (no, it was not efficient, but that was not the _point_. It looked cool, and what is this nonsense about civil rights?). Now those liberated slaves had turned their lessons around.

"Yes, that's pretty impressive for some fish," someone sneered, and Jinbe barely leapt aside as a thick burning rope tore past him.

"Doflamingo," Jinbe grimly growled.

The enemy Warlord merely chuckled, hanging mid-air with his threads. "Got to admit, maybe I'll have to get my hands dirty after all."

Then Doflamingo glanced over at a bulky shape rocketing his way. _How'd Straw Hat get so big? No matter, may as well enjoy the chance to kill a D, especially one who's already able to take down someone like Crocodile._

He felt out with his Observation Haki. _Ah he's planning to start by punching, figuring I'll block him, to set up for what he's planning to do next. Whatever it is, best to kill him from the very start, like that fool Crocodile probably failed to do._

Doflamingo swiped his hand, releasing threads that cut like wires into the balloon-like Luffy, making him spew out blood and…seawater?

The first spray made Doflamingo flinch as it hit, and Luffy, wounded but still very much alive, spat out the rest he had drunken. A variation on the Water Luffy he had used against Crocodile, since a Devil Fruit User could drink water even if they could not bathe in it. It was just a generally terrible idea to drink seawater for anyone not a fishman.

Flailing, Doflamingo fell through air, just as another shape came up to briefly be above him, looking down on the Heavenly Demon, a Celestial Dragon.

Without a word Jinbe punched down, finishing Luffy's work as Doflamingo was smashed down into the ground and water below, taking him out of the fight.

Still falling back, Jinbe offered a hand to Luffy who stretched an arm to grab it, pulling himself closer.

"You guys are pretty cool," Luffy beamed from atop Jinbe's shoulder as they landed, planning to stay there since it offered such a great view and was safe from the sea.

Then Crocodile struck.

 **-0-0-0-**

With a sensation approaching fear, Sengoku blocked the flying Logia's first strike, while Garp snapped up to help as well, keeping the wily ex-Warlord away from 'Fire Fist' Ace.

While the marines were clearly losing, the Fleet Admiral _could_ still execute the pirate.

However the catch was that at the same time Whitebeard _could_ then sink Marineford, and then make his way to The Holy Land Mariejois.

Fire Fist's fate would decide the fate of the world, and now Crocodile was going after him! Sengoku had to—

The tsunami of water –courtesy of certain Fishman Captain— struck the Execution Platform with full force, deliberately aimed for Aokiji himself, instantly freezing everyone around him into a block of ice.

Like a bird in flight, the Admiral's own Logia powers let him flow through the solidified sea water without any hindrance, and taking with him two blocks of frozen Sengoku and Garp in his arms. Both men would likely be free shortly, for while lacking Whitebeard's Devil Fruit power they had their own abilities and haki. It was only a matter of time before— then Aokiji saw Marco in the air, with Whitey Bay's ice breaker ship rapidly making its way towards the plaza, a certain cranky Emperor perched upon the bow.

 _No time_ , Aokiji knew as he started to quickly retreat with his boss and mentor. _The War's lost_. Right now his priority was to salvage what he could from catastrophe before it pulled down the World Government itself.

Luffy however was perfectly calm and composed, glad that Jinbe had listened to the plan he had come up with off the top of his head.

While everyone else was trying to figure out what was going on, Luffy leapt up to the top of the execution platform. Then with a feat of strength that defied his small frame, wrenched the whole metal structure free of the ground, with the giant ice cube with Ace and Crocodile inside on top, and kept it intact as he landed, and started running towards the ocean still steaming from Akainu's magma.

"A crewmate and I've been frozen by Aokiji before! We know what to do!" he yelled while the Sun Pirates escorted him through the dumbfounded ranks of Whitebeard's Sons.

 **-0-0-0-**

Later

Jinbe rubbed his beard with an intrigued air as he took in the sight of Straw Hat Luffy holding a multi-argument.

(Whitebeard was still on the _Moby Dick_ , with Marco, Jozu, and other sons alternating between pleading, threatening, and outright guilt tripping him to put all of his medical apparatuses back on).

Ace was resting beside him, wrapped up in warm blankets and Luffy's arms, with a doctor hovering about. Between glancing at his older brother every few seconds, the young man was arguing that:

 _No_ , he did not care how many of Ace's nakama Hancock had attacked, she was his friend and –slightly mollifying some of the others— the reason he had gotten so far. "So if you go after her I'll beat you down too!"

 _Yes_ , the newly arrived Trafalgar Law should get the somehow-still-alive Doflamingo. Why not? It was not like anyone else wanted him, right? And he was offering his expertise as a doctor. "Besides, Law's cool! And he's got that awesome bear!"

"Stay away from Bepo, Straw Hat-ya!"

 _No_ , he was not letting Ace go anytime soon, in fact he might never do so. "Why're you guys so worked up about how we used to always sleep and shower together? Huh? What does _that_ mean?"

 _No_ , it was not greedy to be trying to recruit Jinbe to his crew! In fact, those trying to _stop_ him –Aladine and the others were too bemused to speak up— were the greedy ones!

 _He really is a fascinating one_ , Jinbe mused.

 **-0-0-0-**

2 Years later

Jinbe smiled with wholehearted contentment as Ace, the newly appointed Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates (Whitebeard had died smiling in his sleep, a bottle of booze in one hand and his family around him), gave away Charlotte Praline as the bride.

The human-shark mermaid hybrid had been freed from the machinations of her family upon Straw Hat's conquest of Big Mom's former territory. His crew's victory, with his Grand Fleet coming to help, over her forces had been stunning, claiming those islands (and their delicacies) as their own. Sort of. It was more that Luffy wanted to maintain a monopoly over the food there, and everyone else mistook his protection for the people living there. Needless to say, Jinbe was glad he had finally agreed to join the Straw Hat Pirates, it was never a dull day.

Anyways, Praline had emerged as one of the administrators of those islands (and someone Luffy _did_ like, and was thus willing to protect), she and Aladine had met during one of the Sun Pirates visits to see the Friend of All Fishmen to congratulate him on his success.

A whirlwind courtship had ensued, and now here they all were, basking in the joy the couple were giving off as they exchanged their vows.

All was well…

"Robin, how long until Kaido crashes the party again?" Luffy asked his crewmate, between swallowing down huge chunks of meat.

"Our intelligence indicates he will be here any minute, Captain."

"Sounds great!"

The guests all nodded in agreement at the news of the late-coming guest.

 _…Wait, what?_

 _No,_ Jinbe corrected himself with a sigh but also a grin, _it was never a dull moment._

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **I could not just let Praline and Aladine not be together!**

 **Also, Marco is cheerfully still the First Division Commander.**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

This chapter is owed to the wonderful and terrifying Karukyuu, whose attempt to dissuade me from writing this only made it all the better :-P Also dedicated to my equally wonderful beta rose7anne101, whose own hilariously insane ideas keep me well entertained X-D

Read their own more in depth and thought-out versions of this sort of story

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

Knowing what was about to happen, Ace _moved_ his body to fulfil his duty as the older brother: protect Luffy from harm at all cost, even if his own body must become a human shield.

But someone got there first, taking the fist of magma through their back and out their chest.

"Y-you!?" Luffy stammered.

"Yes," the man choked out, before sending a blast of his power to repel Akainu back. Sakazuki was unharmed, but his own confusion kept him from renewing his attack.

Struggling despite the burning hole through his torso, Crocodile turned around to face down the Admiral, refusing to look Luffy in the eye.

Yet Ivankov thought he glimpsed both pride and regret on the man's face. _Croco-boy…?_

"W-why!?" Luffy gasped

"I, I didn't know. N-not until Sengoku said it," Crocodile managed. "Years ago…I was a different person. Ivankov helped me find my true self, my true body, but before that, I had a child. You."

"Croc-Boy!" Ivankov gasped, his poor brain and heart unable to process this. He had _known_ that the younger man knew Dragon, but this!?

"Are you claiming to have been the boy's _mother_!?" Akainu snarled, stunned into immobility while mind's shattered throughout the island and on to Sabaody where the reporters were watching. "You and Dragon are his parents!?"

"No," Crocodile smirked, wishing he had a cigar. "My brother Dragon only _pretended_ to be Luffy's father, fooling even our old man!"

.

.

.

 _…_ _What…?_ was the general consensus.

Slowly, as if the very action pained him, Sengoku turned his head to **GLARE** at Garp, who was sheepishly scratching his head, if possibly annoyed that he had been so thoroughly tricked. And maybe a bit proud of that too.

"Th-then Dragon's not my dad?" Luffy asked. "And you're my _mother_?" Frankly, in his mind that his mom was now a guy was not all that weird, since he knew about Ivankov it was not even a mystery. The nature of his parents had never really concerned him before, but it seemed to matter to Crocodile, and for his sake he would know. "Then who _is_ my dad?"

Before Crocodile could answer, a strange sound echoed across the battlefield.

Between Akainu and Crocodile, a blue object materialized with the words "Police Box" on it, and out the door burst a man.

Larger than life, and proud and true, Gol D. Roger snarled at Akainu. "Get away from my wife and kids!"

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **I regret** ** _nothing_** **!**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story. Also thanks from sharingankakashi007 for his advice.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

The news arrived during the monthly birthday celebration.

After his crew hit over three hundred people, Whitebeard had been forced to concede that celebrating his Sons' birthdays –or at least those who had an interest in such things— was impractical given the sheer number of celebrations that would entail. Plus, it was just a bummer to have a birthday party postponed because of a wild storm or a vicious battle.

Now years later they had worked out a system where on the first of every month, or whenever the Division Commanders decided based upon circumstances, they would celebrate the birthdays for everyone born during that month.

Birthday cake was a guilty pleasure for Whitebeard.

They would not let Thatch's death overcome them; he would never forgive them. Indeed, this was their way of remembering him, given how much the Fourth Division Commander had loved such parties.

Ace's absence was also evident of course, another hole in their daily lives, but all the more apparent at the party, but most of them were confident he could handle himself. No news was good news in their opinions.

Then the News Coo came by. Using his powers to purge away the alcohol, Marco bought the paper and opened it up to the first page. Something about a famous pirate being captured, with a picture of…

Marco threw down the newspaper and flexed his arms.

Cold burning wings of fire alerted everyone in sight as the First Division Commander flew towards the navigation room. "Have a course charted for Paradise, but do not set sail for there yet," he ordered, and the man on duty flinched at the icy tone before Marco then turned to fly towards the nearest staircase. Storming down below deck, brothers pressed to the side to let him by before hurrying up themselves to figure out what was wrong. The news was spreading throughout the ship now that Marco was agitated about something.

Nurses were running towards their Father with medicine to calm his blood pressure as golden eyes drank up every little written detail from the retrieved newspaper. "It's a trap," he growled, before cocking his head to read the sea and sky and confirmed that they were indeed _not_ on a course for Paradise. Good. No need to be too predictable. _I'll give you and the World Government a chance, Sengoku,_ the Emperor silently vowed. _You can release Ace, or give him a chance to 'escape,' but the moment you announce his execution, it's war. Giving you the benefit of the doubt, the traitor probably made giving Ace over too public for you to cover up, and I'll accept the loss of face you'll suffer as my price, as opposed to my Sons dying in battle. But if you go through with it…_

The Den Den Mushi were already starting to ring when Marco reached the communications room, running into a Brother who had just come out to find him or another Division Commander. "Unhook them all and ring the others," Marco ordered, and half a minute later over forty allied Captains were yelling for instructions. They were all heading to Paradise, but they wanted clarification for rendezvous points, and wanted to know if there was anything else they should acquire. Tersely Marco gave some coded phrases from memory that would translate into what Pops would order if he was there (he no longer needed to consult his Captain on such matters). He gave them instructions, designated meeting points, and then hung up. They took no offense to his curtness, knowing he was struggling to constrain down his own fury.

 **-0-0-0-**

An hour later the Division Commanders had assembled, taking the time to ensure their various responsibilities were addressed, as well as letting their tempers cool so that they could be productive.

"If they announce Ace's execution, we head to Marineford to rescue him and destroy the Navy!" Whitebeard rumbled. "We shall now begin to discuss our strategy, including how we will ensure the safety of our protectorates in the meantime."

"We'll crush them where they're strongest," Marco lazily drawled, "and send a message to the whole world."

"But why not break him out of Impel Down first?"

The Captain and Divisions Commanders blinked and turned to look at the nurse who had spoken up.

"If you save Ace from Impel Down, then you can sink Marineford without any of our family getting hurt," she continued, steeling her resolve at the _men's_ incredulous stares. She was a Daughter of Whitebeard, and she _would_ speak up in the face of this foolishness.

"We have to send a message," growled Jozu half-heartedly, but even he could see that Whitebeard and Marco were considering this weird and incredible controversial idea. A pirate, a man, should deal with things head on.

But on the other hand, the marines would not expect it, and focus the bulk of their forces on Marineford. Oh sure, someone like Sengoku would take precautions, but he would not really believe Whitebeard would do it.

Therefore, this would consist of a (relatively) simple jailbreak as opposed to an all-out war where people would die (the marines did not count), was definitely worthwhile to at least consider.

"It's in the Calm Belt and surrounded by Neptunians," Vista pointed out. "And mostly underwater."

"Well, I bet I know how we could handle that last part," Namur, their resident fishman offered.

"And Pop's Conqueror's Haki could handle the Neptunians," Marco mused. "We'd have to maintain his treatments," Pops grunted at that, "but he could definitely sustain cowering them for the trip. Once we get there, we take the quickest route to Ace's haki signature while flattening everything in our way. Even the walls."

"But they might kill Ace before we could reach him," Izo reluctantly said.

Marco shook his head. "No, like Jozu said, half of this is about sending a message. They won't kill him unless it's publicly, and as an attempt to trap and kill us before we take revenge."

"If they don't see us coming, they'd get suspicious," Jozu rumbled.

"Send the Allied Captains to Marineford then," Izo said. "They don't have to engage, just keep the attention on them. Sengoku and the others'll probably expect Pops to be preparing some dramatic entrance."

"It's not 'dramatic,' it's 'awesome'," Marco deadpanned. "And don't you forget it."

A crewmate ran over at that moment and handed over a ratty, thick book, covered in doodles; the Whitebeard Pirates copy of the Marines' rules and regulations. Curiously, Haruta quickly flipped through it. "Huh. They even have a protocol on the timing for prisoner transfers, including exactly how many hours beforehand the warden is to turn over a prisoner to the marines to be transferred to his or her execution…" he trailed off suggestively.

Everyone exchanged looks of growing interest.

Still, their Captain was unconvinced.

"We'll cut off your booze if you don't," the nurse deadpanned, with her Sisters nodding in agreement.

"Plot a course for Impel Down!" boomed Whitebeard.

 **-0-0-0-**

With a heavy heart and soul, Ace was led by Warden Magellan onto the pier. Prison guards stood to attention on either side, while up ahead were marines under the shadow of the enormous battleships. Before him was a vice-admiral he dimly recognized, but all he could think about was Luffy.

 _It's true. Hancock was telling the truth. Luffy broke into Impel Down to rescue me_ , he thought with disbelief. Ace had heard it over the guards on Den-Den Mushi, but Magellan had brutally shut down his desperate attempt to save Luffy, upon hearing the announcement his little brother was trapped back down on Level 6 with sleeping gas.

Even the Warden had been shocked at this news, wondering aloud at how he had thought he had already killed Luffy. At any other time, Ace might even have been so proud of his little brother given the source of the (unintentional) praise: the person the World Government entrusted with ensuring the death or imprisonment of all the dangerous, desperate men here.

 _But not even Luffy will be able to pull that off a second time! Even if he's not helpless down at my cell, they won't stop until they've killed him, and there's nothing I can do about it!_

 _They'll torture him to find out how he did it, and then torture him just for the fun of it before sending him off to be executed too. If they don't kill him first…_

 _AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!_ he wailed with helplessness and _hate_.

 _Ace_ was the one who had gone in cocky against Teach and now his arrogance had killed Luffy too.

 _If only I'd found a way to kill myself down there…none of this would've been happening…_

 _With any luck, at least Pops and the others won't show up at Marineford and get dragged down with me too. I'm not worth it. I'm not worth anymore people dying over me…_

Sounds brushed against his thoughts, and the 'Fire Fist' glanced up to see he had reached the vice-admiral who was to take him away. The man's cruel eyes never wavered from the pirate as he exchanged the formal words for the prisoner transfer.

 _So this is it_ , Ace thought with despair, face expressionless as the fight drained out of him, and the vice-admiral arrived to take custody.

Then he registered his legs hurt and he was underwater.

Gasping for breath as the energy was sucked out of him, Ace nearly blanched at the sight of the razor sharp teeth in front of his face, but instinctually recognised who was before him as a friend: the shark fishman Namur, Division Commander of the 8th Division of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Bursting out of the sea, the _Moby Dick_ literally crushed underneath it the Navy warships sent to escort Ace. To the right and the left of the island, two of its sister ships surfaced as well.

Not missing a beat, the pirate cannons barked and rumbled as they strafed the Navy vessels assigned to protect the island, sinking them all within thirty seconds.

Marco was already in flight before a single gun was fired however, his foot smashing into Magellan's chest light a bolt of lightning, blue and gold fire burning away every drop of poison that touched him. Back into the prison the warden and pirate flew, smashing through the gate and down into the stone floor. The Phoenix kept the initiative however, fists hammering down faster than the eye could see until the massive horned man no longer moved.

The only one who might have had a chance to give any meaningful orders, Domino, Head Jailer of Impel Down, had been knocked aside by Magellan's descent, and was too winded to do anything.

The rest of the guards were too stunned to act, making them easy prey for Izo and Vista who had followed behind their older Brother.

"Well," Marco idly said as he scratched his head. "That's that then, I guess."

 **-0-0-0-**

Sucking in air, Ace let Namur haul him out of the ocean and back onto the dock, 'Diamond' Jozu standing on the vice-admiral, and all of the marines down. There was a distinctive hole in the wood where Namur had torn through and wrenched Ace down, but other than that, everything was surprisingly intact. Then Ace's brain finished rebooting after this sudden reversal of fortune. "Luffy!"

"Hello to you too," Jozu rumbled, confused by this reaction.

In the same line of thought, Namur chimed in, "Long time no see."

 **-0-0-0-**

Marco, Vista, and Izo were just starting to saunter out of the prison when they processed the sight of Ace frantically running _back_ towards the prison, hands still cuffed behind him. "It's Luffy! My little brother! He broke into the prison to save me! We've got to get to him."

The other pirates all looked at him in surprise, but then Marco took charge. "Hold up then. Let Vista cut you free," the swordsman obligingly hurried over, "while I ask some _fine_ folk some questions."

Domino helplessly trembled from where she lay on the ground as the legendary First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates kneeled down beside her.

"So," Marco said as if they were talking about the weather. "Straw Hat Luffy, is he here?"

Gulping, she quickly nodded, too afraid to lie.

"Where?"

"L-Level Six," Domino stammered. "But we set off the traps and sent guards down there."

"Alright," Marco said with a small smile. "How do we get there?"  
"RAAAAAAAH!"

With a roar Ace leapt down the elevator shaft all the way down to Level Six.

"Idiot," groaned Marco, and took off after him, with Vista right behind.

Idly Izo walked over to Domino, figuring someone had to stay behind to report back to Pops about what was happening. "So," he levelly said, continuing the interrogation, "what else do you want to tell me?"

 **-0-0-0-**

The few heartbeats before they hit the bottom of the elevator shaft, the elevator itself lying in rubble at the bottom, Marco formed his wings to slow himself down, while Vista blackened his swords with haki and stuck them in the walls to do the same.

Ace's body was simply crushed by the impact, near instantly re-forming itself in fire, and he punched through the strange stone barrier in front of the opening.

There was a faint whiff of gas in the air, but it was too faint to have any effect.

"Jinbe's here too," Ace said, "we can start with him. He'll have seen Luffy."

"I don't sense his haki though," Marco frowned. _Something_ about the prison was interfering with Observation Haki, making it so that he could not sense anyone; not even his Brothers right in front of him. He supposed that it meant that prisoners could not use such a trick to avoid the guards, but it also meant the guards could not use it to find the prisoners, which seemed pretty stupid. _Although they_ do _still have all the surveillance snails, so I guess most of the time it's not a problem. Certainly less of a hassle of stationing so many people with such a valuable skill in this dump._

 _More to the point, our original plan of making a beeline for Ace's haki signature would've fall through completely._

"Come on!" snapped Ace.

Yet when they reached what Ace insisted was Jinbe's cell, the door was open and the chains were unlocked and all of the other prisoners were yelling at them, most begging to be released as well.

Ace was looking around wildly until he registered Vista was all but shouting at him and punching his shoulder. "What!?"

"First," Vista pointed at another unlocked cage. "Who was in there?"

"It, it was Crocodile," Ace gaped in further surprise. "But where'd he go?"

Marco was looking very impressed now. "So your little brother somehow managed to get down Level Six of Impel Down?" he drawled. "And then freed two Warlords? Huh, I can't wait to meet this guy." Then he saw Vista rubbing the fingers of his right hand together. "Oh yeah, and we can use this to find out if Straw Hat beat Crocodile or not, settle that bet."

Hand lighting up with fire, Ace stalked towards the nearest occupied jail cell. "My little brother, which way did he go!?" he snarled.

"I bet _that's_ a good clue," Vista snickered. Ace angrily whirled around –this was _not_ a joking situation— but any words were cut off as he saw what Vista was staring at.

The three pirates examined the rising spiral made of stone that reached up to a hole in the ceiling, closely resembling a staircase. Except for the lack of stairs. Or compliance with any safety regulations whatsoever.

"No way that's stable," Marco quipped, more to tease Ace than anything. "Well, your little brother's sure in a hurry. How's about we go catch up with him?"

 **-0-0-0-**

"Jinbe, does this seem too easy to you?" Emporio Ivankov asked as he and his fellow liberated prisoners raced their way up the stairs to Level Three.

"I was just thinking the same thing," the canny fishman rumbled. "There were hardly any guards on Level Four at all. From what I overheard, and the way some of them were actively retreating, I'd say that they're concentrating them all together on one of the upper floors. But that just gives us more chance to free even more prisoners."

"Exactly~," the large faced man hummed. "And Magellan's no fool, there's got to be something else going on."

"Is there any way to find out?" Jinbe pointedly asked.

"No," Ivankov sternly said, making it clear he would not continue the conversation. Some of his Candies had chosen to remain behind in Newkama Land, and he would not endanger them by trying to contact them. All of those trying to escape right now would do so or die, but either way the guards might be able to trace the Den-Den Mushi call; they could not be allowed to even _consider_ the possibility that more free prisoners lurked unseen.

 **-0-0-0-**

Like an avalanche, 'Diamond' Jozu plowed aside another group of guards, who trying to rally in a desperate attempt to repel the invaders. The Horned Den-Den Mushi the Whitebeard Pirates had were jamming any attempts to call Marineford for help, and Haruta and 'Speed' Jiru had already taken the communications room just to be certain nothing could punch through the interference. Since they were hanging around longer than expected, Jozu was trying to find where the Gates of Justice were controlled from.

(Domino had been quick to give directions, but the place was a virtual maze).

"It's almost insulting," Fossa complained as his burning blade cut through another batch of helpless guards.

"Agreed," Blenheim sighed, his own sword sweeping aside another barrage of those flying nets. "Oh well, if they think they can take us, less trouble for Ace to find his little brother."

"Just wished they'd hurry up," 'Water Buffalo' Atmos grumbled, hacking down some trained apes.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Where is my brother!?" shrieked Ace at the frozen prisoners on Level Five. Apparently they had been left caged up because they were too strong to guarantee the other prisoners could keep them in line.

"And why's he got to run so fast," groused Vista, ignoring the chill. "We couldn't have been more than a few minutes behind him."

"Eh, it's for family," Marco sighed. "But we'll catch up with him…as soon as we figure out which way the exit is."

 **-0-0-0-**

The mighty Whitebeard was _not_ sulking.

No, no he was not.

Sure he was stuck here on the _Moby Dick_ with a bunch of mother hens insisting he 'relaxed,' and all that nonsense, -and _yes_ , he was the best suited for dealing with any troublesome Neptunians— while his sons got to run wild within one of the World Government's most infamous and secure facilities, but he was not upset about that.

 _I'm getting old_ , he sighed to himself. _No more adventures like I used to. At this rate I'll die in bed._ Which frankly was a bit disappointing to a man of action like Edward Newgate. _Still, at least I'll die surrounded by my family, what more could I want?_

 _Or I could go kill Kaidou or Big Mom as my last act. Death and glory and all that. Maybe Big Mom, she's an insult to the concept of family._

 _But then the kids might chase after me to 'save me,' and get caught up in that mess. No, won't do._

Whitebeard's ruminations were interrupted as a Navy ship inexplicably passed through the still open Gates of Justice. _Did they already figure out what we were doing?_ Whitebeard frowned. He surveyed the sea around the Gates again; still only one ship.

 _The marines should be still busy with Squard and the others' little distraction. And_ _they wouldn't send_ _only one_ _ship_ _._ He perked up _._ _Or could it be it_ _has all three admirals on board?_

"Pops!" one son, Barry, called out. "The ship's covered in dead marines! There's some guys I think are pirates on board and wait!" Whitebeard was puzzled as the lookout shoved his telescope into the hands of his neighbor. "Do you see what I see? Who, I mean?"

Helmrick took up the eyepiece and stared at the newcomer for a few long seconds. "Nope, you're right. That's Teach alright. The traitor himself"

Suddenly feeling twenty years younger, Whitebeard's predatory grin was fearsome and joyful.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace ran through Level Four as fast as he could, following the trailed of downed prisoner guards, while Marco and Vista laughed at how Ace was trying to 'rescue' his little brother, who was apparently doing just fine on his own.

 **-0-0-0-**

Hannyabal, the Vice-Warden of Impel Down was hugging his knees with one hand and sucking the thumb of the other as he sat hunched over in a corner while his subordinates ran around in a panic.

 **-0-0-0-**

The first hint the escaping prisoners had as to what was happening was when Luffy almost tripped over Buggy.

Said former member of the Roger Pirates and Captain in his own right was cowering on the ground around the corner, muttering to himself.

Number Three was there too, along with some other prisoners that he and Buggy had released, but they were all upright, if still visibly nervous.  
Bon Kurei, Number Two, immediately started kicking the duo for abandoning him and Luffy back on Level Five, but then stopped when he saw what had them all worked up:

Beaten guards.

Before them lay the beaten and bloody bodies of what appeared to be the rest of the Great Gaol's jailers.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Hello!"

Izo blinked at that familiar voice and yelled back. "Jinbe! Is that you?"

"Yes!" but the owner of the words did not come out from behind the corner. "Please forgive me and indulge my caution however," the Warlord politely continued, "but could you prove that is really you, Izo?"

The crossdresser pondered that for a moment. "When you were over last and Ace was going on about his precious little brother, Namur dunked his head in that bowl of soup to drown him out."

With a rumbling chuckle, Jinbe stepped out from behind the concealment, along with a familiar figure from a certain bounty poster (usually shoved repeatedly in their faces) widely staring at the Whitebeard Pirates. "And I see you've got a certain someone's little brother with you," Izo said with a knowing grin. "Ace is probably going frantic trying to find him!" Several of his Brothers laughed at that.

"Ace!?" the kid yelped. "Where is he!?"

Izo gestured at the conveniently close by elevator shaft. "He leapt right down there the moment he was free."

By this point, Bon, Jinbe, and Ivankov were familiar enough with Luffy to latch onto his arms before he could fling himself down the hole. "Stop Luffy-Boy," yelled Ivankov.

"Your brother would have followed our trail," Bon agreed. "He'll be up here with us in a few minutes!"

"And if you leap down that hole then he'll follow you and this'll never end," growled Jinbe.

Luffy paused to think, and then stopped fighting his friends and sat down, his arms still stretching up into their own. "Oh. Okay."

Slightly suspicious of this sudden cooperation, the three men maintained their grip, but Luffy just calmly stayed there. Meanwhile, more of the Whitebeard Pirates were gathering with Izo. After all, Monkey D. Luffy had gone from a faceless kid Ace would endlessly ramble about, to a somewhat respectable (to the standards of elite pirates like them) rookie, to this.

The man who had successfully and singlehandedly infiltrated the impregnable Impel Down.

(Oh sure, they had done it better, but they were the Whitebeard Pirates)

They never even heard the approaching footsteps.

"LUUUUUUUFFY!" screamed Ace as he tackled his little brother.

"Ace!" Luffy sobbed back as they rolled on the ground…until Luffy's arms, still firmly gripped by his stunned friends, snapped him back with Ace still holding on. Jinbe, Ivankov, and Bon ducked underneath the duo as they went like a slingshot over their heads, slamming into the wall behind them.

Unfazed, both of them were back up in under a second and hugging each other again.

"You complete and utter idiot!" Ace laughed. "What were you thinking doing something as crazy as this!? Stupid crybaby!"

"Well what were you thinking getting yourself captured!?" Luffy wailed between happy tears. "That's stupid!"

"I didn't mean to! You're stupid!"  
"No you are!"

"No you!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You!"

"You!"

"Ah, what a lovely sight," Ivankov said with a sincere sob of joy, melodramatically wiping away an invisible tear while Bon-Boy cried for real beside him while shouting about true brotherhood. Jinbe just looked proudly on while everyone else was various degrees of nonplussed.

A series of bright flashes brought to Ace's attention that his Ship Brothers were taking pictures of this tender (embarrassing) moment. It was a little awkward to stand up with Luffy wrapped around him, but when Marco noted how stiff Ace was, he drawled "If you even _think_ of thanking us for showing up to save you, our family, then we'll give your share of meat at the celebratory party to your little brother there. If he's half the eater you are, he won't mind."

"But I—!" Ace blanched.

"Ace, don't be stupid," Luffy repeated in a disappointed tone. "That's what nakama does. If I were locked up in prison, my crew would save me too. And so would you."

 **XXX**

 **Alternate Reality**

(One where Ace missed Teach, who manages to capture Luffy shortly after Thriller's Bark, and handed him over to the marines)

(Crew survived and escaped directly thanks to Luffy's actions)

"So how do we bust our Captain out of Impel Down?" Nami mused, her Devotion to Luffy having discovered her Self-Preservation beaten to death by a rock. Fortunately, that part of her mind had assured her Sense of Wealth and Adventure that she had a good alibi.

"It's not going to be easy, but certainly better than attacking Marineford," Usopp grimly nodded.

Pulling down his sunglasses to show his fierce yet calculating eyes, 'Cyborg' Franky spoke up with a tone that held their attention. "We miiiiight have another option," he offered, having just shared a brief and wordless conversation with Robin as they glanced at each other.

"I know the precise location of the Super Weapon, Pluton," the archaeologist darkly offered. "And Franky can make sure it's ready to fight."

"Nami, set a course," Zoro ordered, his eyes a steel as sharp as his blades.

"Wow, it really is the Apocalypse if you're letting someone else set the directions," Sanji darkly snarked, but Zoro ignored it, knowing the chef was just venting his frustration.

The fact that the duo did _not_ fight, and that the rest were not afraid of this unnatural act, was a testament to how serious they all were.

"Aye aye!" chorused the crew.

 **XXX**

Impel Down Reality

"Listen to your little brother," Marco smirked, with the rest of the Family murmuring their agreement.

"Alright," Ace quietly said, and with a struggle raised his eyes to meet theirs.

"That's the spirit, Ace," beamed Luffy. "Now, let's get out of here before any more trouble shows up."

"Oh, about that," Izo smirked. "While we were waiting for you slow-pokes to get up here, Teach himself turned up."

" _Teach!?_ " roared Ace and Jinbe.

"Relax, relax," said an amused Izo, while waving a reassuring hand at them. "Pops sank his ship in one go, and sent Namur to fish him out. _He's_ of no concern right now."

The Traitor's companions had unceremoniously either drowned or been eaten by the local wildlife.

(The one with wings had been slightly tricky, but never let it be said that Pops did not like a challenge)

(They did not know why they had so conveniently shown up, but in all honesty the Whitebeard Pirates did not care. It was kind of irrelevant to them now)

Becoming more serious, Izo turned to Ivankov and the other escaped prisoners behind him/her. "On that note, and we'll have to clear it with Pops of course, but since you're with Straw Hat and Jinbe, I guess we'll have to give you a ride out of here. We sank all the other ships."

"We are much obliged," Ivankov beamed, striking a pose, as did all his Candies behind him.

Then a hush fell upon them all the veteran warriors and prisoners as _he_ arrived.

He come quietly so as to not disturb or forewarn the one he had come to see, but his presence could not be contained any longer as into Impel Down entered Edward Newgate, the Whitebeard.

"Pops," Ace whispered as he saw his aged Captain from across the corridor, before gently tapping his little brother on his arms. Understanding, Luffy unwrapped himself and stepped back, but then stiffened as Ace started to bow—

Faster than thought, Whitebeard was on one knee and pulling Ace into a hug. "My Son. Forgive me for sending you to catch Teach."  
"B-but!" gasped Ace uncomprehending. "That was me, Pops! I went against your orders! I—"

"No," Whitebeard gently chastised. "It was my fault. Isn't that right, Marco?"

"That's right," the Phoenix seriously said. "We all heard it."

"B-but!" Ace tried again, fighting the tears that threatened to shamefully escape.

The sound of flesh against metal behind Whitebeard distracted them, and Ace realized someone was missing. "Luffy!" he cried.

Twisting his body around so that they could both see, Whitebeard took in the sight of that hotheaded rookie facing off against Crocodile, blood dripping from both sets of the brat's knuckles.

 _He bit the skin in both hands to get the liquid he needed_ , Crocodile coolly assessed. _As fast on his feet as ever. But I've got to retreat before the Division Command—_

Whitebeard's blackened fist backhanded the backstabber through the wall, the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit adding to the force as it sent him crashing into the next one behind it. And the next, and the next, and the next, and the…

"Don't interrupt a family moment!" Whitebeard snapped.

With that he turned back to Ace, but then looked up as he actually felt a certain heavy stare. 'Straw Hat' Luffy was before him now, face expressionless as met the gaze of one who had crushed a Warlord of the Seas out of sheer irritation.

"Got something to say, or your tongue tied?" Whitebeard growled, even as he felt Ace tense against him. _Hmph. If the brat can't handle a few harsh words, he's not meant to sail these seas, and had better go home before he gets hurt and upsets Ace._

"Ace called you 'Pops' right before stupid Croc interrupted," Luffy said, tilting his head to the side. "Are you Ace's father?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

The dam broke, and Ace felt his tears running down his face as he and his Pops spoke as one.

Grinning like a madman, teeth gleaming, Luffy gave a sharp nod of his head. "Great to hear! I'm glad Ace finally found his dad!" Then he turned to look at the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates. "And thanks for being his nakama. Ace can be a bit stupid and reckless at times, so I'm glad he's got people like you to watch over him."

"Look's who's talking," Marco smirked, and everyone broke into laughter while Luffy blinked in confusion. He was not reckless. It was just that if he did anything less, life would have no interest for him.

 _Eh, just a mystery_ , he decided. "Plus you guy's showing up like that saved me from having to save Ace from Marineford."

"…Luuuuuuffy," Ace practically whined into Whitebeard's chest. "Please oh _please_ tell me you weren't planning to attack Navy HQ to save me?"  
"Why d'you think I brought along all these guys?" Luffy asked, jerking his thumb back at all of the released prisoners.

"THIS IS THE FIRST WE'RE HEARING OF THIS!" they screamed in horror, while the Revolutionaries nodded in solemn agreement.

Mr. 3 and Buggy were all but sobbing, while their former worshippers had all but forgotten about them. Fortunately for the duo, the ex-prisoner's loyalty had not yet grown to the point of pushing them to challenge the Emperor.

Mr. 1 looked unfazed, but was inwardly furious that his boss was beaten. Again. He was not so unprofessional to attempt revenge however.

"Alright," Marco smirked. "You guys are definitely coming along with us for being willing to do that," the prisoners promptly shut up, "and so we can get the whole story out of you."

"Well, well, it looks like things have all worked up," Ivankov cheerfully but softly said, throwing Ace a look. "Still, I hope that Dragon doesn't sue for a custody battle."

"Eh, why would he?" Luffy perked up, having caught that last part. "Whitebeard is Ace's dad."

Ivankov glanced at the young man, and saw the naked truth in his eyes. _If Luffy-boy truly thinks so about his own brother_ … Ivankov gave a single nod of agreement, already knowing it would be his responsibility to explain to Dragon that his oldest son now recognized another as his parent. _What am I saying? Dragon would applaud me for not being so foolish as to start a war with an Emperor!_

"Now then," grinned a decidedly cheerful Whitebeard, "on to Marineford!"

"YAAAAAAAH!" roared the Whitebeard Pirates.

"Uh, could you guys hold off on that? For like, a couple of days?"

Everyone turned in disbelief to stare at Luffy, but he did not back down. Then comprehension dawned behind Ace's eyes, and he stepped up beside his brother. "Uhm, yes, sorry Pops, but could we really wait a few days?"

Coughing, Jinbe also stepped up. "Just until some people have left," he clarified. _Although we should probably question Luffy to confirm that Hancock had some role to play in this prison break. However unnecessary it proved to be. After all, it might be some days before she leaves, and we will have to spend that time fending off any attempts by the Marines, which would lessen the impact of Pop's demonstration._

Still, the risks the woman _had_ taken, for a plan that had so nearly worked, had to be respected and honoured.

Whitebeard was frowning in mild annoyance, when suddenly Bon Kurei started whooping and laughing. "Bon?" Luffy asked.

"Just imagine it," Bon gushed as he twirled around on one foot. "There's the marines, all stuffy and proud, waiting for Ace's arrival, but then he never comes? And they can't get through the Gates of Justice, and they don't know where Whitebeard is? They'll be sweating up a storm!"

Sadistic grins lit up the Whitebeard Pirates' faces as they started to murmur about making the Navy stew before sinking them.

 **-0-0-0-**

Whitebeard was quite proud of his punishment for 'Blackbeard.'

Eternal drowning.

First, the man's Whitebeard Jolly Roger tattoo was skinned off while wearing sea-prism shackles, courtesy of Impel Down. It was a dull knife, but clean, and Ace promptly cauterized the wound. They did not want him dying of infection after all…

The second aspect was actually inspired by the facility itself, with Whitebeard devising his own prison, just for one.

Teach had wanted to rule the seas, using the power of a Devil Fruit that had inspired him to wait and plot for twenty years, the entire time lying to those who had offered him a family, and then killed Thatch over it? Fine.

Namur and the other fishmen had already begun plans for the new prison, which would be a safe distance from Fishman Island, forged out of sea prism stone (there was a lot to scavenge from Impel Down), with Teach pinned down onto a flat rock.

One of those handy bubbles of air the fishmen used would ensure that Teach never downed while at the bottom of the ocean, while his abnormally tough body would keep him alive even at those depths. His body from the neck down endlessly submerged in sea water, Teach would be too weak to resist the force-feeding that would keep him alive, and fishmen guards would ensure that the sea life did not eat him and put him out of his misery.

If it looked as if there was a chance of someone trying to break Teach out, he would be injected from poison courtesy of Magellan. The prison 'gift shop' had been ever so generous in providing several samples of it as well.

The medical staff were honestly curious if he would die of old age first, or from the results of decades of non-stop exposure to sea water.

Or the ocean would finally crush him.

Either way, drowning the traitor for every moment of the rest of his life would send a firm message.

 **-0-0-0-**

One Day Later

With a huff Hancock commandeered a warship to take her back to Amazon Lily. It had been 23 hours, and 59 minutes longer than being in the presence of such men was tolerable, and there was no sign that Whitebeard was even planning to show up anyways.

Hawkeye had already taken off, and she wanted to get back home to see if Luffy was waiting for her there.

 _It's not as if they're getting anything done after all. Just running around in a panic trying to find them after my future brother-in-law escaped._

 _OH LUFFY!_ she crooned to herself. _I can't wait to see you again and hear how it went! Oh, and I wonder how he'll thank me!? …How_ does _a real man thank a woman?_

 _I can't wait to find out!_

Safely behind a locked cabin door, she blushed and giggled the whole way home.

 **-0-0-0-**

Next Day

"Threaten my Sons will you," Whitebeard sneered as he drew back his fists, the _Moby Dick_ in sight of Marineford, but too far away for them to do anything until it was too late.

Not even Aokiji's ice could shield the marines from what was about to come.

 **-0-0-0-**

A week later

Dragon took another look over the report detailing the sinking of Marineford a week ago, with Ivankov lounging in a chair before his nakama's desk. Their reunion had been a heartfelt one, with Dragon placing a hand on his old friend's shoulder and saying he was glad to see him. A staggering display of affection from the reserved man.

Ivankov had turned woman, wrapped him up in a hug that crushed his friend's face into his/her cleavage, and then plastered a big sloppy kiss on his cheek.

His leader had acted like it had never happened of course, but Ivankov had caught that ever-so-slight smirk of amusement. Oh yes he had~!

"So Aokiji and Kizaru still managed to get a lot of marines out, did they?" mused Ivankov.

"Indeed," Dragon rasped. "And while Akainu's death is confirmed, there's also rumours that Sengoku and Garp escaped as well. Doflamingo and Hawkeye are still at large, and it appears that Hancock now has Whitebeard's protection. Thanks to Shanks, none of the other Emperors made a move on Whitebeard's territory either."

"Yeees, Gaaaarp. Monkey D. Garp~," sang Ivankov, having wormed a certain detail out of Straw Boy. "You really should have a word with your old man, letting your own son be executed like that."

"My what?" Dragon blinked.

 **-0-0-0-**

Two Years Later

"So any particular reason we're here to see Straw Hat off?" Izo asked as he and the others made their way through the Sabaody Archipelago. Sure yeah they could have met them in the New World, but Ace was too impatient. He had tried to brush it off as 'pre-emptively dealing with some slavers eying the fishmen,' but he had fooled nobody.

Besides, Luffy would love the surprise!

"I've got to know how well Rayleigh trained him," Ace argued.

"I just want to know if Hancock made him a man yet or not," Vista smirked, rubbing his mustache. "Two years hanging out with her, any man would crack."

"Especially if she slathered herself in meat sauce," Haruta laughed.

"He might accidently eat her," Izo deadpanned before they all blinked in horror and shuddered. He _would_.

"Well, anyways, we've still got to—" Ace broke off as they saw a bunch of civilians hurrying their way. "Hey, what's up?"

"It's Straw Hat Luffy!" the man gasped. "He's making his way here, and killing anyone who annoys him!"

"What're you talking about?" growled Ace.

"I think he's talking about those guys," Izo muttered, pointing at an approaching fat man in a red jacket, the look of a bully, and a ratty straw hat on his head.

"Huh?"

"Who do you think you are, standing in my way!?" the fatso snapped as he approached, the Whitebeard Pirates not moving from where they had stopped. "Don't you know who I am!? I'm Straw Hat Luffy! The 400 million man! The grandson of Garp, son of Dragon, and brother to Fire-Fist Ace!"

"Yeah, about that," Ace growled as his hand lit on fire…

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Yes, content here borrowed from my own Rise from the Ashes :-P**

 **The part about Observation Haki not function properly within Impel Down is my explanation for why it was never used. A security system that can function as a double-edged sword.**

 **Initial inspiration for Teach's fate came from "Vacation to home," by FMPtrumpets, with me taking it a step farther with help from sharingankakashi007.**

 **As for the part about the alternate Straw Hats breaking their Captain out of jail…I think what the Navy should fear most is a scenario where they have Luffy captive but not his crew. I shudder to think what would happen if that collection of very intelligent, very resourceful, and very dangerous individuals decide they had nothing to lose…**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review and I will get back to you!**


	8. Chapter 8

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

Jinbe looked up from steering their captured navy ship to Marineford, to take in the sight of 'Straw Hat' Luffy pensively thinking.

Sitting cross-legged on the deck, the only motion being made was one hand absently scratching his head, with a scowl on his face.

Now, Jinbe had only known him for about an hour, but between what Ace had told him, and what he had seen with his own eyes, the fishman knew this was highly uncharacteristic of the young man.

Feeling his gaze, Luffy turned to look at the Warlord. "Jinbe, how serious is it going to be at where they're taking Ace to be executed?"

Hiding any of his own concerns, Jinbe merely said without elaboration, "Bad. The Admirals, other Warlords, and all of the elite of the Navy will be there. But so will Pops and all of the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies. It'll still be a tough fight, but should still be able to save Ace."

Buggy started to boast again about how he would lead them all to victory, but Luffy tuned him out while turning his attention to someone he knew was actually dangerous. "Hey Crocodile! How bad do you think it'll be?"

The logia user maintained his trademark sneer around his cigar. "Don't tell me you're thinking of running now, Straw Hat?"

Frowning, Luffy vehemently shook his head. "Never! I just want to know if it's bad enough that maybe I'll have to break my promise!"

"Promise, what promise?" one of the Revolutionaries asked.

"Well," Luffy confessed as he picked his nose, "I promised a bunch of people I wouldn't use this one technique, no matter how cool it was. Ace and Sabo," everyone wondered who the latter was, "said it didn't even count when I used it to beat them in our fights. It was the only time I won against them really. Even Gramps forbid me from using it during training. But I haven't used it since I became a pirate."

Crocodile said nothing, hiding his disbelief that this rookie had been _holding back_ during their life and death battle. Yet he could tell from Straw Hat's eyes that he was telling the truth, or as much as the brat believed it.

"You mean, you didn't even use it when fighting Magellan!?" gasped the Revolutionary with bunny ears, with more and more of an audience being dragged in. "Why not!? You almost died!"

Alerted by the noise, Ivankov came to join them, standing imposingly before Luffy. "Luffy-Boy~! Does this secret ability come with a high price to yourself?"

"Well, kinda, but nothing I'm really worried about," Luffy admitted, scratching the back of his head. "It's not even as bad as Gear Two."

"It is up to you to decide," Jinbe rumbled. "Just remember two things: a man should never break his word without great cause, and even then he must make amends for it. Second, you must judge the worth of your brother to yourself."

Ivankov nodded, patiently waiting for Dragon's son to elaborate on this mysterious technique.

After about a minute of intense thought –squeezing and pulling at his rubbery head with the strain— Luffy popped up to his feet and silently walked off.

"Oh no," whimpered Buggy.

"What?" Mr. 3 asked, trying to figure why he had shivers running up and down his spine.

"I know that look," Buggy elaborated while trying to keep him limbs from shaking, struggling to maintain his 'Buggy the Saviour' image.

Luffy's face had hardened into something decisive, and everyone was instinctively giving him room.

"My Captain would drag us into the most horrifying situations again and again, where we would repeatedly it was only by a hair's breadth that we would escape either a quick and terrifying death, or a slow and agonizing one. And almost every, single, time, he would do nothing but laugh. But whenever he had a face like _that_ , when he was _serious_ …" Buggy's eyes glazed over as memories surfaced. " _Those_ are what I have nightmares about. When he showed the power he always kept hidden."

Then Buggy gulped again. "But most of all, it reminds me of how I agreed to help that Straw Hat brat with an easy favour, and for my trouble kept finding myself dragged deeper and deeper into the bowels of _Hell_ …"

"Oh…" Mr. 3 managed, while furtively the assassin started looking their ship over again to memorize avenues of escape if needed, calculating how he could get a boat into the water.

Buggy was finally able to peel his eyes from Straw Hat's terrifying face. His eyes fell on the sea and he wondered as he used to –from a times he thought he had left behind– when facing that _look_ , if he just should take his chances with the sea.

 **-0-0-0-**

They had reached Marineford, falling from the sky itself and miraculously surviving. Now, at the front of their wrecked ship stood the ring leaders: 'First Son of the Sea' Jinbe, Buggy 'the Clown,' 'Revolutionary' Ivankov, 'Sir' Crocodile, and 'Straw Hat' Luffy, the last of whom carried an ominous and secretive brown sack with him.

Taking in the sight of the armies before him, the fortifications, and remembering the shocking display of power that were Whitebeard's tsunamis, Luffy's decision was finally sealed with the distant sight of 'Fire Fist' Ace in shackles, an executioner ready and waiting on either side of him.

Luffy was not losing another brother.

"Guess that's it then," he sighed, plopping down the bag to begin rifling through it.

Crocodile had nearly taken off to attack Whitebeard, but curiosity held him back. Even more-so when he saw what the idiot rookie was pulling out.

With a determined expression, Luffy prepared himself to unlock the Forbidden Technique, despite all the promises he had made.

 _I'm sorry Ace._

One.

 **-0-0-0-**

At first only glancing it out of the corner of his eye, a surprised Fleet Admiral Sengoku turned to fully examine Fire Fist, as the young man went white as a sheet in terror.

 **-0-0-0-**

 _I'm sorry, Gramps._

Two.

 **-0-0-0-**

Vice-Admiral Tsuru blinked and looked down at the piece of paper that had magically appeared in her wrinkly hand. It detailed how one Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp was off on vacation leave as of one minute ago, and was taking his two apprentices with him.

 **-0-0-0-**

 _I'm sorry, Dadan._

Three.

 **-0-0-0-**

Dadan and her bandits huddled together in fear inside their cabin as a dark and early night fell upon them, wolves howled throughout the surrounding forest, and murders of crows gathered overhead, cawing death and doom.

 **-0-0-0-**

 _I'm sorry, Makino._

Four.

 **-0-0-0-**

The green-haired barmaid flinched as every cup she owned, even the metal ones, cracked.

 **-0-0-0-**

 _And if you're looking down on us from Heaven, I'm sorry, Sabo._

Five.

 **-0-0-0-**

Across the world, the Revolutionary Army's Chief-of-Staff fell to his knees, screaming in agony as he grasped his head.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace groaned as he slowly regained consciousness and looked around. _Is that…Akainu? Why's he got a footprint on his head? Why am I looking at his head? Where am I? What—?_

Then his eyes widened as he remembered what had just happened, and realized he was hanging in midair. The execution scaffold had been completely uprooted and was now lying on its side, with Ace hanging awkwardly –and painfully— from it by his chains.

Craning his neck, he could see how in front of Akainu there were two thin, straight lines of burning that seemed to trail from the downed platform, pass where Akainu was lying on the ground, and continue all the way to the bay. A hole in the thick concrete defensive wall overlooking the bay, where a path of boiling water cut through the ice, with the trail ending at the marine ship Luffy had landed in.

 **-0-0-0-**

Only Marco's decades of discipline and commitment to always appearing unflappable (Shank's ability to breach it was but one of many reasons he hated the rival Emperor), kept the Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Commander from letting his jaw drop so low that he would risk losing it.

Hovering in the sky with his phoenix wings, he watched as the central building of Navy Headquarters started to collapse within itself. It was not just from the massive hole in the middle, but ongoing smoke and flying debris clued him in that someone was running around and plowing straight through loadbearing beams and walls.

 _And what's with this haki!?_ he wondered with no small amount of concern. _One moment it's good, if not Division Commander worthy, and the next it's rivalling Pops!_

The sheer fluctuation in haki levels, and at such speeds, should be impossible. A normal person's soul, not to mention their very body, should be torn apart by such erratic power.

 _We could advance right now_ , the Phoenix knew. _The Marines are in disarray and as confused as we are, but their army's got a huge hole in their center, with all the casualties you'd expect. And Akainu's out too._

Yet neither he nor Whitebeard made any move to rally their forces and advance.

Not until they had determined exactly _what_ was going on, and _who_ it was. And their intentions…

 **-0-0-0-**

Crocodile, Jinbe, Ivankov, and Buggy all blinked at the sight before them: the near instant eradication of the pride of Navy.

They blinked again.

And then looked down at what had been left at their feet by a certain scrawny youth.

Five empty coffee pots.

 **-0-0-0-**

Hancock, Hawkeye, and Moriah glanced down. By sheer happy coincidence, Doflamingo had been right in the way of Straw Hat before he did… _whatever_. However, lacking the same degree of a monstrous body as an admiral, the crime lord, slave runner, and all around jerk, was currently dying of some pretty impressive wounds, reminiscent of being run over by a train.

A train that was going so fast that its wheels had caught fire.

All the Heavenly Demon could manage was twitch in pain, and mutter about how he was a god and would not be looked down upon.

Clearly, if he did not receive medical treatment soon, if the marines and their medics were not alerted, their fellow Warlord of the Sea would die.

As one, they all turned their attention to the far more interesting enterprise of seeing what Straw Hat would accomplish next.

Kuma was not programmed for this, so he ignored the dying man for no real reason.

 _Oh Luffy, that's incredible!_ a red-faced Hancock gushed to herself with arousal. _And to think you held back so much when fighting my sisters so as not to hurt them! I completely underestimated you!_

In her most private thoughts, she acknowledged she would have to intensify her own training. She would have to prove to Luffy that she was strong too, that she was the one that should stand beside him, as his partner, fiancé, and, dare she even _think_ it, Queen. Yet right now she knew that as powerful as she was, her beloved might very well be on a level beyond her.

Dracule Mihawk's hawk-like eyes had picked up what Luffy had drunken, and snarked aloud, "I wonder if they'll be changing his nickname? Coffee Luffy just doesn't have the same ring to it however."

 **-0-0-0-**

"And that," Ace groaned, "is why you never, ever, ever, give Luffy caffeine!"

"HEYACEYOUREOKAYTHATSGREATIMGOINGTOGETYOUOUTOFHERE!"

"Uh, Luffy?" the older brother wondered aloud.

Before him was a human-shaped blur that seemed to vibrate with motion, vaguely coloured in the right places like the clothes Luffy had been wearing earlier.

"YEAHITSMELETSGO!"

"Alright," Ace said with the forced calm one gives to a dangerous, agitated wild animal (that you were not planning on eating, which was a key distinction in Ace's family). "Do you have a keEEEEEEEEEE!"

Without waiting to bother with trivialities like getting the handcuffs off, Luffy grabbed the bottom of the former execution scaffold, and ran off while pulling it behind him, with the sheer force leaving Ace hanging horizontally in the air.

"DON'T JUST WATCH SAVE MEEEE!" Ace screamed as he flew past his crewmates and out of the bay, with Luffy running on the water itself.

Without a word, Jinbe took off in desperate pursuit.

"Alright then," Whitebeard declared, giving no hint as to how he felt about this turn of events. "I'll go break up the ice so we can get out of here, and Marco?"

"I got it," his Son casually drawled. "Go dump into the ocean every single drop of coffee that anyone in the fleet had. Worry not, yoi."

Whitebeard ignored the groans of despair from his Sons. They were rough and tough pirates, they could survive without their addiction for a day or so. Frankly, he was annoyed with all of this fixation on 'multiple blends' and 'proper coffee machines,' and this silly 'expresso' craze. Whatever happened to just getting a handful of beans (and yes there were some islands that had better ones, but if you wanted them you sailed there instead of 'exotic mail orders') and shoving them into a hand-cranked mixer? Kids these days.

"Good lad."

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **And older idea I had but could never find a place for.**

 **Before anyone asks, no, I do not drink coffee myself.**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	9. Chapter 9

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

Coolly, Whitebeard took in the sight of the raging battlefield that was Marineford. He knew that if he was to rescue Ace, keep as many of his Sons alive as possible, and destroy the Navy, it would take every piece of intuition, experience, and cunning he had to play.

Along with Gol D. Roger-class luck of course.

For all his words, Whitebeard knew that Sengoku, Garp, the Admirals, and Warlords, were nothing to sneer at. Otherwise, scum like Big Mom or Kaidou would have attacked Marineford decades ago.

 _Although that does raise a certain question. Where are you Teach? Why aren't you with your fellow dogs?_ Whitebeard darkly wondered. _I'd like to have a few words with you after all_.

Without turning back, he knew one of his trump cards was making its move.

The loud, rumbling footsteps and screams of terror from the marines were a handy hint.

Like a living mountain, Captain Oars Jr., ally and Son of Whitebeard, had made his appearance.

Towering above everyone, Oars picked up an entire Navy battleship to throw it at the approaching Giant Squad, giving them a surreal experience as they were for all intents and purposes being picked on by someone bigger than themselves.

Even better, the toss pushed the giants back while tearing a hole into the massive wall the encircled most of Marineford's Bay.

Ignoring the cannon-fire assailing him, Oars roared aloud. "ACE! I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU!"

With a single slash of his oversized sword (a gift from his Father) he then took out the vice-admiral giant who had foolishly tried to retaliate.

Seeing that Oars was about to step over the broken wall and into the Bay, Whitebeard spoke up. "Be careful, Oars. Courage is one thing, but don't get yourself killed. Remember what I told you to do."

"POPS! DON'T MAKE ME STOP! I'VE GOT TO SAVE HIM! I CAN'T LET THEM KILL ACE!"

" _Oars_ …" Whitebeard rumbled with patented Parental Disapproval. "I don't want you or any of your Brothers getting hurt. You do your job so they can do yours. If you can't beat someone like Marco or the other Division Commanders, then the Warlords will tear you apart."

 _This_ took the assembled pirates by surprise, especially Oars' crew. Their Captain's winning strategy was always to tear right through whatever was in his way, nigh-impervious to whatever was thrown at him. Even the Navy could clearly see it was Oars' preference.

 _What are you up to?_ wondered Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

Slumping, Oars sadly nodded to the confusion of the marines, and got to work.

Massive hands dug into the fortification wall that encircled most of this half of the bay, and each ripped out chunks the size of a modest house. Even that simple act greatly enlarged the path he had made into the Bay when he had thrown that battleship at the giants.

"This is bad!" Vice-Admiral Momonga grimmaced. "We'll have to fall back and defend the line at the Bay!" He and most of the other Vice-Admirals had been holding back Whitebeard's allies from entering the opening into said Bay, yet the pirates now had another entrance to pour through. In fact, if Oars was allowed to continue, then the marines would have to further divide their forces to cover it more; and if the line was too spread out, it would be all but useless.

Of course, the Navy _wanted_ more of the pirates in the bay to kill them all with their trap. Until then however, they had to make the defense both convincing, and keep as many sailors alive as reasonably possible. There was also the not-insignificant chance that Oars' efforts might damage the Containment Wall.

Then Oars flung out his arms while holding what he had torn out.

Faster than a cannonball, the rocky rubble and steel reinforcing screamed over the ice and into the fortifications beyond. One of the massive cannons was destroyed outright, spraying lethal metal, concrete, and fire to kill even more marines. The second projectile shredded through the marines grouped within the plaza, safely to the right of the Execution Scaffold so Ace would be unharmed.

With a menacing grin, Oars leaned down to reload and rip out even more of the wall before him.

"This…could be a problem," Momonga gritted out.

 **-0-0-0-**

Whitebeard was being a proper Father, and showing Oars his approval.

"Gu ra ra ra ra ra!"

More and more of the Navy's own fortifications were being tossed back at them in a manner that aped Garp the Fist and his cannonballs of old. As for the retaliatory (and declining) cannon-fire, Oars had shrugged off worse. Oh sure, if the Navy got their acts together enough to concentrate on a single spot, there would be trouble, but Whitebeard was not unduly concerned. As for the enemy powerhouses, the vice-admirals were busy trying to deal with his allies; the Warlords would only move when they wanted to, and would be entertained by watching Oars at work, while coming steadily closer so that he could be dealt with, without endangering themselves. That same caution would make Sengoku hesitate, knowing that sending in an Admiral was simultaneously predictable and the equivalent of shooting a really irritating fly with a battleship turret—he would wait to see if conventional weapons could do the job.

The rest of his Sons were emboldened by the sight of their biggest Brother industriously and resourcefully hammering away at the marines from afar. It was not perfect of course, and Whitebeard hid his disapproval of how about a third of the time Oars was trying to target the Warlords. Thankfully, either Kuma just repelled it, or Hawkeye or Doflamingo (if the debris came close enough to them personally) cut it apart so that the pieces hit the marines behind and to the sides of them. And by 'thankfully,' clearly the dogs were treating the attacks as beneath their notice, and did not retaliate.

As a demonstration of why that was a good thing, the Navy's Giant Squad tried attacking Oars again. Roaring, they had charged across the battlefield, assuming as Oars tended to do, that just because you were bigger and stronger, it meant you were more powerful.

They were also assuming they were the strongest.

'Diamond' Jozu grabbed one of the giants by the ankle and spun him around to hit his neighbor, laying them both out flat. Leaping up, he then brought his elbow down on the spine of the top giant, the impact of the blow transferring down into the one was on the bottom. The sheer force of it cracking the ice further, outlining where they had been bested.

Visa and another one of his brothers –either Irran or Renji, it was hard to tell since they dressed so alike, but the point was that neither were Division Commanders even— easily blocked the baseball bat swung by one with a beard, and then started to hack him apart with superior speed and a thousand cuts.

Curiel had somehow gotten into the face of the one with a helmet—literally. Whitebeard had gotten a glimpse of his legs crawling into the visor before there were flashes of gunfire and the giant had started to grab at his head.

The rest were having similar difficulty as the Division Commanders spared the attention to handle them.

 _Hopefully Oars gets the message and stops trying to provoke more than he can handle_ , Whitebeard scowled. Of course, he could hardly give any sign of disunity, lest Sengoku pounce upon that weakness. More importantly, his Son was mostly listening, and doing well, so best to reinforce that.

"Gu ra ra ra ra ra!"

Then a Navy ship fell out of the sky with some surprising passengers.

 **-0-0-0-**

As per his orders, Marco was keeping an eye out on Ace's little brother.

Kid was doing well, relentlessly charging forward, but it was only a matter of time before he ran into something more than he could handle. He had clearly been through some tough fights already, given the state he was in, and (judging by the presence of all those former prisoners, including Jinbe) how he had just come from Impel Down. Even worse, the Warlords of the Sea were starting to advance.

Sure enough, Marco had looked away for half a minute to deal with a bothersome marine duel-wielding cannons with haki – _Sorry loser, Curiel does it better_ — when the rookie was under attack by what looked like a logia. _I think that's Smoker, the guy they claimed beat Crocodile. Huh, isn't there a pool on whether or not Straw Hat did it? Ironic._

It looked bad enough that Marco was about to intervene, when someone else beat him to it.

Boa Hancock, the Pirate Empress.

Warlord of the Sea.

Out of nowhere she attacked the marine Commodore, and started visibly screeching at him.

 _What?_ Marco thought with a slight frown as he halted his rush to help Ace's brother.

Ever since she had started to take action, Hancock had been indiscriminately mowing down pirate and Navy alike, with her 'allies' either too cowed by her beauty and presence, or simply willing to overlook it so long as she continued to kill fellow pirates half the time. This however, was clearly a deliberate attack against Smoker. If she was not an infamous man-hater, he would have imagined it was in Luffy's defense.

Then she blushed and spun around to face the kid, blocking him from sight.

A few seconds later, the rookie's whole body was wrapped around her as if in a wrestling move…or a hug.

Marco's body was already in motion even as his brain struggled to keep up. By the time he reached the scene, going slower than usual to stay discrete, Hancock was fighting Commodore Smoker while the boy continued running towards the Plaza.

 _Ignore rumours and preconceptions. Act upon what's before your eyes_ , Marco lectured himself. Then he caught sight again of a prison uniform worn by the reinforcements Straw Hat had brought. _And then there's the fact that Straw Hat somehow got into Impel Down. That should be impossible for a pirate…but maybe not for a Warlord_.

The Phoenix's backhanded fist sent Smoker flying, never even seeing who had struck him from behind.

Letting his haki fade from his hand as a –slight— peace gesture, Marco also stuck it into his pocket as he casually faced the infamous woman.

Recognizing him, she took up a fighting stance, her snake hissing by her side, but otherwise did not react. According to what the Whitebeard Pirates knew about her, she was very proficient in all Colours of Haki, and would know the reputation of the First Division Commander. She could irritate him, keep him busy until an admiral showed up, but that was it. She could not win.

That was not to say the Pirate Empress was not a formidable woman, far be it. If he lowered his guard even for an instance, he likely would not live to regret it. Only the upper tier of the Division Commanders could hope to match her…but Marco was in a ranking of his own. A class of fighters that included monsters like Dogtooth or Jack.

He cut to the chase. "It was you who got Straw Hat into Impel Down, right-yoi?"

Hancock's expression never flickered, maintaining a cold exterior. Nonetheless, such an accusation should have gotten some response, especially given how many nearby marines had overheard.

"What—!?"

"What nonsense is that? No Warlord would do that!"

"Hancock was just taken down by Straw Hat Luffy!"

"But why was she fighting Smoker?"

"Yeah! It almost looked like she was helping Dragon's son!"

Knowing he did not have forever, Marco continued to be blunt. Besides, it put pressure on her, and in a melee like this, they needed clear allies more than they needed double-agents. "Are you with Straw Hat, yes or no?"

Nothing.

Sighing to himself, Marco decided he was wrong. _Well, one more Warlord—_

"I'm on Luffy's side," Hancock suddenly admitted. Nevertheless, her martial arts stance remained. "I see no other difference between any of you other _beasts_ ," acid dripping from the last word.

 _There's a story behind all of this_ , Marco knew. Not that he cared right now.  
"I'll make you a deal as the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, upon the Pride of my Jolly Roger," he declared. The marines and his Brothers near enough to overhear, simply gasped. Such an oath was legendary not just within the New World, but upon the Grand Line itself.

"Speak," she ordered, an almost invisible flicker in her eyes.

"First, you undo the petrification of my Brothers," and there were many. Even worse were those who were alive, but parts of their flesh turned to stone. Those would die slowly as the blood flow was cut off and organs failed, unless the doctors cut out those pieces; which would most likely be fatal too. If it was reversed however, they had a fighting chance.

"Second, you do not attack us anymore. Or our other allies," he clarified. She was visibly unimpressed, so he rephrased it. "Fine, _Straw Hat's_ allies!" Now she was blushing.

 _What in the world happened between them?_

"Finally, you fight the marines. In return, Pops will give you his Jolly Roger as a declaration of protection."

Hancock hesitated again, and he could tell she was a sharp one as she considered it. Pride was not just the issue here after all. If Whitebeard died here, then the flag would be useless, at least in the short term. The Whitebeard Pirates would be busy dealing with Big Mom and Kaidou invading their territory back in the New World. In the meantime, the Navy would likely retaliate against the much closer and more vulnerable Amazon Lily, especially with their ships capable of crossing the Calm Belt. Even in the long run, the island's location on this side of the Red Line still meant that aid any to the Kuja Pirates would take too long to arrive. Even worse, they would be perfect bait if the World Government wanted to provoke Whitebeard into action, as they were doing with Ace right now.

If Hancock accepted this bargain, her people's safety would only be assured if the Navy was completely, and utterly, crushed.

 _And she wants that_ , Marco realized with interest as he saw the sudden hunger in her eyes. _She_ loathes _them_.

Nonetheless, she had accepted the title of Warlord for a reason, and had been playing it discrete up tell now. Moreover, she might refuse out of simple hatred for a _man_ like Marco.

Then Hancock's whole face went flush and she started to giggle.

"I'll do it!" she declared. "I'll fight with you to save my brother-in-law Ace," it took considerable effort for Marco to keep his eyes from bugging out, or his jaw from dropping, "so that he can come to my darling Luffy and I's wedding!"

 _We… Wedd... did she just say wedding?_

Surely, he heard wrong.

Before Marco could even react or open his mouth—

She disappeared in flash…

With her snake right behind her, she was heading in the direction of the petrified Whitebeard Pirates. Dimly Marco caught the words "Luffy" and "more human shields."

… _Or I have no idea whatsoever on what's going on inside that head of hers_ … Marco admitted. _And I'm perfectly fine with that._

Then he tried to figure out where Straw Hat had gotten too, and the state of the War.

 **-0-0-0-**

Finally, the other shoe dropped.

Things had been going too well for the Whitebeard Pirates.

Oars was continuing to act as a mobile, organic artillery, moving down the rapidly vanishing fortified wall towards the main island. His actions clearing a growing space for his pirates to act within, but for the most part the allies were staying out of the Bay. Whitebeard was suspicious of that report that Straw Hat brat had given after all, and told the other Captains to focus on advancing up the enclosing 'arms' of Marineford as opposed to within the Bay itself. The holes Oars was opening in that one wall made it ideal for their ships to fire their cannons through however.

As for Straw Hat himself, he was leading a spearhead of pirates and escaped prisoners, which included Jinbe, Emporio Ivankov, Izo, Namur, Kingdew, Fossa, Haruta, Blenheim, and Jiru. The rookie could handle the marine rank and file, and help inspire others, but it was all those big names that would handle the heavy stuff.

The lack of giants had been appreciated. Fools, getting too cocky like that.

Then, as if to mock him, Senogku played his next card.

Oars' roar of pain was the first sign something was wrong as an army of Bartholomew Kuma clones attacked, lasers firing from their hands and mouths.

Without turning away from the Execution Stand in the distance before him, Whitebeard tilted his bisento so he could assess the situation in the blade's reflection. His haki also helped paint the worrisome picture.

Expressionless, Whitebeard assessed the situation. _They're just Navy toys, my Sons can take them. Or could, if they weren't panicking because of surprise, being hit in the rear, and that they all look like a Warlord._

As for Oars, super-giant was still moving, but even from so far away, Whitebeard could see he was being pierced and blood was flowing. _And he can't move_ , Whitebeard realized with horror and self-criticism. _That frozen tsunamis acting as a wall to keep him hemmed in!_

"Marco," he stated, and instantly his eldest Son disappeared from down on the icy battlefield to reappear beside his Father. "Go help the others. Stay until they've regained their composure and start tearing those living weapons apart themselves." There were enough New World veterans and Captains there to handle that.

"Roger," Marco said as he vanished in a flash of speed and blue fire.

 _Now for that ice,_ Whitebeard thought. Being penned in like that was gravely worsening the situation for his Children. _I'm getting old if I didn't see that sooner._

 _Easily fixed though._

Swinging both fists to the sides, that problem was removed. Even the pirates who did not catch sight of Marco's distinctive flames were relieved as they saw the ice fall away, and fought harder at the demonstration of their Father's support.

A sound caught Whitebeard's attention, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Squard behind him, a strange look on his face. "Squard! You're all right. I was trying to get ahold of you." The wily veteran had been his first choice to command his allies making their way up the sides of Marineford after all.

"I, I," Squard stammered, before falling silent, casting his eyes down in— _Is that shame?_ Whitebeard wondered.

A bright glow from above cut off that thought as Kizaru struck, hoping to take advantage of Marco's absence. Clearly he hoped to try once more at ending the War quickly by taking out the opposing 'king.' "Let's try this again, shall we?" Kizaru drawled.

"No! You won't hurt Pops!" Squard roared, leaping up and drawing his massive katana to try and cleave the Admiral with his blackening blade.

Mid-air he met Kizaru, who simply parried the sword with his own made of light, and pointed his index finger at the pirate Captain's head. "To bad for you. If you'd just cooperated and played alon—"

Whitebeard's enormous darkened hand wrapped around Kizaru's arm before the Admiral's haki even registered his presence, and threw him aside.

Specifically, right into the ocean water, three hundred meters away.

One of the World Government's Three Ultimate Powers, and possessor of one of the most powerful Devil Fruits, disappeared under the waves with only a few ripples.

Unconcerned as he started to fall down, Whitebeard gently pulled Squard closer to check that he was alright. Seeing his Son was fine, he gruffly lectured him despite still being in mid-air. "I'm not so feeble that I need your help dealing with a mere Admiral. But I appreciate the sentiment."

Dumbly, Squard nodded.

With a crash of cracking ice under his feet, Whitebeard had landed upon the frozen battlefield. "Time for me to get in the field," he sneered.

 **-0-0-0-**

Sengoku bit his tongue to keep himself from swearing. That _fool_ Borsalino! _That_ was why Sengoku, Garp, and the _obedient_ Admirals were staying back until the final stages. Because you _never knew!_ One single mistake could take you out if you got too careless while overexposed and without support!

Now the Navy was down one Admiral, moral had taken a severe hit, and the fighting had barely begun. Both sides merely testing the other.

And then Sengoku noticed Hancock squaring off against what had once been Kuma, fighting alongside Ivankov. There might be no room for lust within that metallic mind, but the patches of stone across the cyborg proved she was adaptable. _And since she was programmed as a so-called_ ally _, PX-0 can't even fight back!_

He bit his tongue harder.

 **-0-0-0-**

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Oars gasped, as suddenly a massive metal wall rose out of the ice to encircle the Bay. Immediately he halted his slow progression towards Ace, to turn to this new threat to tear it down.

"Captain Oars look out!"  
"Oars!"

Glancing down at the sounds of the concerned voices of his crew and Brothers, he saw a tall human, wearing white and blue, and then **_COLD!_**

 **-0-0-0-**

The Containment Wall was a serious problem.

The pirates were sealed within, while Akainu safely hailed them with oversized burning boulders to either kill them all outright, or boil them alive.

Jozu was doing what he could, grabbing the solidified magma in his diamond form, and throwing it back. Vista and the other swordsman within the Division Commanders were leaping at other falling chunks of molten rock, and splitting them into pieces with such skill that they fell away from the dwindling ice and into the water. It might not be much, but they were buying time and so far minimizing casualties.

Unfortunately, they could only do so much while constantly jumping back into the air, and then falling down again.

The Navy were no fools either. Oars was the single serious threat to this new Wall, and Aokiji had personally and promptly frozen him solid once it had been raised.

This also meant the Admiral was absent for something else, however.

"He's as reckless as his brother," Whitebeard muttered at the sight of Ace's little brother riding over the Wall upon a current of water. Then he blinked in shock. _Or is he!?_

 _Kizaru's down. Aokiji's over by Oars, and by the sound of it the boys there are keeping him distracted over there. And Akainu has to maintain that barrage to kill us all_.

Reaching out with his haki, Whitebeard took further stock of the situation within the Plaza. Indeed, Straw Hat had landed within the Plaza and now was rushing forward unopposed.

 _Jinbe took down Moriah,_ with the pirates tying him and up and dragging him off so he did not get back into the fight. _Crocodile –when did he get there?— is fighting Doflamingo. Kuma was defeated too. Hancock defected,_ and she was now following Straw Hat over the wall, thanks to Jinbe again, _which just leaves Hawkeye, Garp, and Sengoku as the real threats… And Marco is on the other side too…_

 **-0-0-0-**

Marco's kick was perfectly timed, knocking Akainu's arms aside so his next eruption of lava hit his own subordinates instead.

Unconcerned, the fanatic just gave a condescending smirk. "You're just delaying the inevitable."

"We'll just see about that," Marco playfully smiled.

Hancock was fighting alongside Luffy, dealing with the vice-admirals who were trying to reach him. Her whirling legs were as quick and lethal as any weapon. Whenever she had a breather, she unleashed a storm of her Slave Arrows to petrify marines in the dozens, or take out cannonballs.

 **-0-0-0-**

Scowling, Sengoku switched his focus to what was happening near Whitebeard's frozen super-giant. The pirate's earlier rampage while ripping apart the fortification for ammunition, had unintentionally shifted enough debris overtop the Containment Wall that patches of it had not raised. Or his efforts had somehow damaged the machines meant to lift them up. Regardless, there were several large chunks of the Containment Wall that were wide open for Whitebeard and his crew to safely pour through.

Worse, Akainu was now too occupied to fulfill his part, and Aokiji had let himself get distracted dealing with those allies of Whitebeard. They were not enough to beat Kuzan, but theose pirate Captains knew Armament haki, and were skillful enough to keep him on his toes and distracted from the larger battlefield.

True, the Wall had cannons of its own, but even now Sengoku was getting reports that the pirates –no longer pressured by Akainu— were laying down their own fire to destroy them.

And of course, Garp's insufferable grandson, Marco, and those traitors Crocodile and Hancock – _I'm going to have some serious words with the Elder Stars about the Warlord system!_ —, were cutting their way through the Plaza.

Despite all of these obstacles, Sengoku allowed himself to feel confident.

So long as the Containment Wall stood strong, Justice held victory firmly within its grasp.

Tsuru had already directed half of the vice-admirals to take a few thousand men to support Aokiji, and together they would plug in those holes in the Wall. A good solid layer of ice would do for everywhere except where Whitebeard was directly, but even if he did not fall into the water beforehand, enough upon the old man would help take care of that. _Which means we need to get Marco out of the way so Akainu can get back to work._ Some of the remaining vice-admirals were trying exactly that, but the wily Phoenix was weaving around them. He did not have to engage directly after all, just keep Akainu too busy to fire.

 _Of course, that'll only work in the short-term_ , Sengoku knew. _Either Akainu will get him with a feint, or it'll be the distraction of Fire Fist's death when the new executioners arrive._

Then Whitebeard entered the Plaza.

"GU RA RA RA RA RA!" he laughed aloud as he came down within a torrent of water like Straw Hat and Hancock had.

In motion the instant his massive boots hit the ground, he turned around and slammed his fists down beside the base of the Containment Wall. Fists crackling with his Devil Fruit's Power.

"NO!" screamed Sengoku, but it was too late.

The Tremor-Tremor Fruit's miniaturized earthquakes tore through the cement and down into the structures below…including the mechanisms that supported that portion of the Containment Wall.

The Navy's ultimate trump card, reinforced with precious Sea-Prism Stone, was impervious to attacks of any kind from within the trap.

From without, it was a critically different story.

Slowly but implacably, that section of the Containment Wall began to fall _back into the Plaza itself!_

Hundreds of marines were crushed outright. Doflamingo had tried to escape, but Crocodile changed tactics to rush him, cutting the Heavenly Demon's strings so he could not get away. "I told you to stay out of my way," Crocodile sneered to a panicking Doflamingo, just before the Wall came down upon them both.

Whitebeard was safely in motion, managing to repeat this twice to other sections of the Wall before an enraged Akainu ambushed him, sinking his fist deep into Whitebeard's back.

"Brat!" spat Whitebeard, cutting the Admiral's shoulder with a twirl of bisento. Whitebeard's burning wound was deep, yet he had shifted enough at the last moment so it only hit a lung and not his heart. _Getting too old_ , he groused.

Nevertheless, it was worth it his Family made for the large opening, sailing upon their final surfaced ship. Their last trump card.

Squard was at the front of the stern, eager to redeem himself for the dark thoughts he prayed his Father never knew.

 **-0-0-0-**

Aokiji had disengaged and rejoined the marines in the plaza, but he was hard pressed as he fought both Jozu and Marco at once.

Despite his injury, Whitebeard was holding out against Akainu, keeping the Admiral busy.

A stream of sand had come up from the cracks underneath the dropped sections of the Containment Wall, reforming into Crocodile. Promptly he had engaged Hawkeye in a series of blows and cutting remarks from either of them.

Meanwhile, Straw Hat, Jinbe, Hancock, and Ivankov had nearly reached the Execution Scaffold.

"Execute Fire Fist!" Sengoku snapped.

It was a gamble, but hopefully it would make Whitebeard so desperate to save his Son that he would expose himself to Akainu.

…And then Straw Hat displayed he was a Conqueror.

 **-0-0-0-**

The Navy was being routed now, although Whitebeard was in critical condition. Sengoku's gambit had worked in that regard, but when Luffy had unleashed his latent power, too many of the remaining marines had fallen. Along with the loss of most of their enemy's heavy hitters, the pirates had struck decisively, letting Luffy reach his brother.

The marines' moral was shattered —what few of them remained alive. As for the pirates, their cries of victory and triumph felt like they could rock the clouds above.

Together they ran towards the Bay to escape and end this bloody War.

Along the way, Luffy had called out instructions for how to safely defrost Oars, with Jinbe racing over to help get the super-giant into the sea. A little extra help from the Flame-Flame Fruit, and they would have him whole and hale in no time. Ace was already planning on making Oars a pair of gloves in thanks. It would keep the jolly big guy nice and warm, and maybe include some steel knuckles to make him hit harder. He would love it.

They only stopped at one point for Ace to help Marco and Jozu finish off Aokiji, but that was enough for Akainu to catch up.

More concerned with the 'threat' of their bloodlines than the dying (of old age and wounds) Whitebeard, Akainu loudly declared [CENSORED BY THE AUTHOR BECAUSE HIS WORDS MAKE ME SICK AND I HATE HIM].

Angrily, Ace stopped running to turn to face Akainu, determined to shut the man's mouth and its filthy lies about Ace's true Father.

Then Marco swooped out of the blue to kick the admiral flying.

"Marco! What—!?"

"Ace," the First Division Commander said in a relaxed tone, but a shiver still went up the young man's spine. "I thought _we_ were supposed to be running to the ships."

"But Marco! He—!"

"Ace," the man repeated as he interrupted, still not looking, "when I turn around, will I be seeing you running to the ships?"

Getting the message, Ace turned and headed for the ships and freedom.

"I think your friend was trying to tell you that you were being stupid," Luffy helpfully said.

"Shut it."

"I mean really, this is why we all came here, right? To get you home!"

"Oh like you'd run if someone insulted Shanks or damaged his Hat Or stole your meat for that matter!"

Pouting, Luffy continued to lecture his idiot brother. "He'd care more about me and my nakama getting out alive."

 **-0-0-0-**

"Darn straight," Shanks whispered aloud.

He was hiding behind a piece of debris, having swum ahead alongside Benn Beckman. They should not have worried however, Whitebeard had handled himself like the legend he is.

It felt like wasted trip, but Shanks had not been willing to take the chance.

Then he watched Hancock catch up to Luffy, gushing about how heroic he had been. "Huh," Shanks mused while stroking his chin. "Benn, what did we tell Luffy to do about women again?"

"Whatever Makino tell him too," deadpanned his first-mate. "And then she told him to treat them respect, always ask before touching, full consent, and never comment on how she looks. With you nodding along and adding the proviso that the exception is if they're trying to kill you."

"…Eh, could be worse," Shanks decided. _I'm not breaking our vow over this. But if Luffy gets kids…_

"We're not a babysitting service," Benn warned reading his Captain's mind. He had enough 'babies' as it is to take care of.

"I didn't say anything!"

"You were thinking it!"

"I wasn't," Shanks feebly denied, his eyes not leaving Luffy as he was dragged into the escaping boat.

Then he heard Benn grunt in surprise –which was the equivalent of a normal man cursing a blue streak— which made him pause and slowly turn around.

 _Maybe it wasn't a wasted trip after all,_ Shanks thought as his face hardened, while he surveyed the new arrivals.

"Benn," Shanks quietly ordered to which Benn nodded and in flash disappeared.

Blackbeard and his merry round had just arrived and Shanks –those three scars over his eye tingling— intended to head the _welcoming_ committee.

It was only polite to return the greeting, even if it was a bit late.

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **As you can see, the theme here is basically the Whitebeard Pirates being a little bit better during the War of the Best. Love the guys, and no one is perfect, but a few things they could have done differently.**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story.

Also, a huge round of applause to silverwolf1249, who both proposed this idea, helped me with the brainstorming, and even wrote a good chunk of this. In addition, silverwolf1249 has written their own companion story to this. It is a prequel named "Watch the Flames Burning," which can be found on Archives Of Our Own under silver_wolf1249. It addresses how Ace came to join the Whitebeard Mafia.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

Humming to himself, Thatch finished up and took a step back to take another look at his latest masterpiece.

The meat was cooked to perfection, and he was positively giddy at how the various herbs and vegetables had been arrayed, and the sauce was the perfect colour and ladled out like artwork. _This put Da Vinci to shame, and Gordon Ramsay's taste buds to the test. Moi in Town,_ Thatch crowed to himself.

He personally brought it to the door for the approaching waitress. Over the lovely lady's shoulders he could see it was another fine night at the _Moby Dick_ restaurant, of which yours truly was the owner and head chef.

"Looks like Luffy's worked his magic again," he smirked.

"You've got to love him," the waitress smiled in genuine agreement. No need to flatter Thatch, since he was one of those bosses who could actually handle criticism to his face, and dealt with them all professionally. "Letting the biggest glutton in the world eat for free? Your best idea ever!"

The young man in question was shoving food into his mouth while dancing away with the paying customers; wealthy figures, influential politicians, famous movie stars, and others laughing and dancing away as they all had a great time. They ate, drank, sang, and would remember this night so fondly that they would be guaranteed to come again. Thatch was already planning to expand the building to try and keep up with the waitlist.

Taking the meal, the waitress hurried to get the food to its destination, and Thatch hummed as he took another look around his kitchen, smugly taking in the second reason that encouraging Ace's little brother to eat here for free was such a brilliant move.

Thatch was a master chef.

Sanji was a wizard. The best cook Thatch had ever seen.

Somehow Luffy had 'stolen' the man away from the Baratie, a restaurant in a poorer district that could nonetheless still produce the only food that could challenge the _Moby Dick's_ own. When Thatch had gambled in letting Luffy eat here for free, he had been right that Sanji would not be able to resist the chance to take a break to work in a professional restaurant. All the equipment was first-rate after all, and the man had a compulsive love for cooking anyways.

His hands moved like lightning, crafting together multiple dishes at once, and every recipe was an original masterpiece, erupting from his imagination. Thatch had only been half-joking when he had said that Sanji should will his hands and brain to science.

The blonde had retorted that it would be more productive to donate Luffy's stomach to physicists studying black holes.

"Ahem."

Glancing to the side, Thatch nodded in acknowledgment to one of his special assistants, dutifully standing aside to not disturb the cooks (which was especially dangerous when Sanji was in the kitchen. Dude had a mean kick (especially if you tried to sneak in a 'taste test,' not that it stopped Luffy). "Your meeting, sir," the man reminded him.

"Aw right," Thatch groaned. "How could I forget?"

He set aside his personal cooking implements, hung up his apron, and got his coat, still wearing the rest of his chef's outfit.

Then he put on the shoulder holsters for his two pistols.

Edward Thatch, 4th Division Leader of the Whitebeard Mafia could never be too careful after all.

While all Divisions had people with a variety of skillsets, the majority of the 4th Division were involved with the restaurant business, a chain of five star restaurants (no bribes required, they had _earned_ that distinction) open three meals a day, dreamed up and run by Thatch, netting his Pop more cash than their competitors realized. Thatch had an idea for dish that would earn him his second Michelin Star, he would bet his reputation on it. _Just you wait Zeff, I'll leave you in my dust yet!_

While all of the other head chefs answered to Thatch, none of them realized that _he_ answered to legendary kingpin Edward Newgate. Most of the rest of the staff at those restaurants knew however, and as Thatch's Brothers and Sisters kept things running smoothly and ensuring that none of those cooks looked up from their art long enough to see something that might make them squeamish.

Granted, they made enough legitimate money through the infamous meals they served to show a decent profit, but as one of the Division Leaders it was expected that he provide more than that.

And Thatch did.

Money was laundered surprisingly well, especially when buying all those ingredients in cash (another thing that made Sanji a wizard, he never wasted a _single_ crumb. Once he even taken all of the scraps set aside while making other meals, and had somehow blended it into a serving that left _the_ Jackson Samuel himself literally crying with joy when he ate it).

(He had been shoveling it in so fast he did not even take the time to curse his catch phrase between bites!)

(Sanji had told his friends to stand in front of the cameras so no one posted a photo of it on social media, while lecturing them about letting a man enjoy his food in private. Jackson was a frequent customer now, and their list of celebrity clients skyrocketed overnight).

Wealthy and influential people streamed to the Moby Dick and its sibling restaurants, where the tables were bugged to listen in, and the occasional slow-acting poison was slipped in to kill them a few days later (never while Sanji was there, no need to poke _that_ bear). And of course Thatch had his share of regular hitmen and forgers when necessary, although for more important jobs he would call the Divisions who specialized in whatever job needed doing.

For customers who paid a certain fee however, they were guaranteed total privacy, confidentiality for any secrets that slipped out, and even help mediate dispute without escalating the situation to something that 'technically' had Edward Newgate's attention. Moreover, the staff would defend them with their own lives against any threat. Thus other gangs and mafia members could come here to work out deals in peace and with delicious food.

Still, duty called, and it was time for their monthly meeting. Besides, he and the other Division Leaders had to have a little chat regarding their 2nd Division Leader, Portgas Ace.

Humming again, Thatch went up to Sanji. "I've got to go, you okay minding the store for me?"

"You know I am," grunted one of Luffy's top enforcers. Then he went all giddy, "And I can fire all the men while I'm at it. And give the ladies mini-skirts!"

"Sorry, they've got a union," Thatch smirked. As powerful as he might be, the man was a complete and utter sap when it came to women. Not that any of his Sisters, or other ladies in the know, would try and abuse it. Not after what the rest of the Straw Hats had done to the last one who had tried something.

Outside, the party was heating up even more, with Monkey Luffy right in the center of it. You would never guess he was the boss of one of the most elite, and small, gangs in the world. Specializing in high-stakes robberies that left Atmos and the rest of the 13th Division jealous, or taking out rival gangs that were far more unscrupulous.

The Family's relationship with them was vague, more of friendly rivals than allies or outright enemies. Both gangs had fun together, and there was never any violence between them. However, they did not cooperate on jobs, and did sometimes compete for the same prize. All in good fun.

Nearby were two more of his top enforcers, Zoro and Jinbe, who as always Thatch felt regrettable about. Jinbe for instance had been closely associated with the Whitebeards, forced to remain hair's breadth apart from fully becoming one of them because of crime politics. The burly, sumo-like man had been a wily and dangerous crime boss in his own right, before stepping down from his post to work for Luffy.

For Zoro, the irony was that whenever Thatch saw him, he knew there would be never a sequel to "Swords of Justice," his absolute favourite cop movie.

Roronoa Zoro had been the posterchild for the cliché police officer who did not work well with others, played fast and loose with the rules, but got such fantastic results that the chief could only grumble and yell at him. Then an incident with a corrupt superior had led Zoro to become Luffy's first gang member and top enforcer; a man who could go from a lazy alcoholic to a berserker leashed only by his boss' will.

About a year after quitting his former job, the movie had come out, clearly based upon Zoro's exploits as a cop. When the man had gone to court about how they had used his image and exploits like that, he had been denied even a single cent. Within a month, the lawyers, judge, movie director and produce, and actors had all been 'mysteriously' robbed of every penny, hence why even though the movie had been very successful and popular, there was no sequel yet.

Thatch even signed on several petitions for filming one, and had even almost donated money for it, until he discovered the 'charity organization' was headed by one Mikan Nami…

Which was a shame, because Thatch really wanted to know if 'Roronoa _Zolo_ ' would ever get together with Tashigi…

Franky and Chopper were playing it up too, with some of the guests clearly sharing gossip about the duo. The gifted mechanic and electronic genius was rumoured to be a self-made cyborg after all, and for all that Chopper was a brilliant doctor, there were persistent tales about what happened when his wrath was roused.

Thatch kept moving through the crowd, taking his time as he looked at the crowd, debating on whether he should stop and mingle a little first.

Brook was playing music, gloves and mask firmly on to hide what he was.

Brook was a skeleton.

An actual, moving, undead skeleton.

A veteran of the Vietnam War, Brook had at one point ingested the ultra-rare and finite drug called the 'Devil Fruit' that, like haki training, was illegal for anyone outside of the government to possess. Hence his need to disguise himself (besides how terrified regular people would be). But for all of his eccentricities, the Whitebeard Mafia knew he was as effective as the rest of the small group.

Thatch suspected that for all that his hairy features were dismissed as a 'condition,' Chopper was a Devil Fruit user too, giving the Straw Hats an unusual number.

Seeing a particularly beautiful lady standing to the side as she enjoyed the festivities, Thatch indulged his normal habit of ignoring that little warning voice at the back of his head and went to have some fun.

Smoothly he stepped up beside Nico Robin, resplendent in a sleek maroon gown that hugged her curves and left nothing to the imagination. _How does she not get back pain, with breasts that big and no bra?_ He shot her a charming smile. "Looks like everyone's having a grand time."

She giggled and nodded. "Indeed. Our vacation was nice, but it's good to be back."

 _Right, vacation_ , Thatch thought sardonically.

The chef would never admit it, but Robin was one of the few people who made him wary.

According to underworld legend, she had been an assassin since she was _eight_ , killing whoever she had been hired to, and always in a variety of ways so that there was never an M.O. to trace her. Only one person knew how many she had killed, and she never said a word about it. And frankly, Thatch –who had blood on his hands himself— figured ignorance would help him sleep better at night.

Pops had considered recruiting her himself, especially after confirming she killed potential clients who wanted her to murder children, but Luffy had gotten to her first. Initially they had been concerned she was using Luffy's brother's connections to reach Pops, but over the last two years it seemed she was genuinely and lethally loyal to her boss.

"Funny thing about your vacation," Thatch mused. "You guys go to Spain just about the same time we get word that Doflamingo," the crimelord of Spain, who had been the puppetmaster behind the last three heads of government, "was out to kill you all for some reason. Next thing we know, most of upper-class Madrid is on fire, Doflamingo's in jail and his accounts drained, that disgraced guy has been elected back into power, and there's pictures of the new president or prime minister or whatever's granddaughter being chummy with Luffy."

"Her name's Rebecca. A very sweet girl," Robin clarified with a smile. "And yes, it was pretty surprising. All that chaos and arson is what convinced us it was best to head back home."

"Uh huh." Thatch took another look around, thinking to entertain himself with asking Nami and Usopp their side of things. Their ability to craft lies and illusions was one of the principle reasons why the cops were unable to build a case against the Straw Hat gang. Thatch had seen Usopp earlier, and always enjoyed his yarns, but could not see him now. And Nami…was busy.

The master cat burglar was wearing a dress with a plunging cleavage and the face of a bimbo beside an important looking businessman, playing up her role as Luffy's Trophy Girl.

(If they ever got into a relationship, Thatch was confident Luffy would be Nami's Trophy Boy)

(There were lots of rumours about all of them in general, but he easily believed the rumours that said the real reason the Straw Hats never flashed around much cash except for food, materials they needed or Franky's car hobby, etc., was because Nami appropriated the majority of it, sanitized each and every bill from the touch of others, and then added it to an increasingly large pile mountain of money she swam in, to get the sparkling look she always had.)

"Nami's busy, and you don't have time to find Usopp," Robin broke in as if reading Thatch's thoughts.

"Oh?" he calmly asked. "And why's that."  
"You don't want to be late for that meeting," she elaborated, looking more serious now. "Your father is in a bad mood already as it is. And not just about Ace."

"Oh?" Edward Thatch smirked, loving how people called that man his 'father.' The formal adoptions were almost always the happiest moments for each and every member of the mafia as they became a part of the gang. "What's Pops so upset about?" Robin always seemed to know.

"Kingdew found a particularly bad case," she delicately explained, and Thatch grimaced.

Kingdew, the dark-skinned, blonde-haired leader of the 11th Division, was ostensibly in charge of a company of private investigators. By sheer coincidence, they had a tendency to report crimes to the police that hurt the Whitebeard Mafia's competitors. The reason that the cops tolerated this was how all of the people Kingdew ratted out were those who had crossed the line. This included dealing in underage prostitution, child predators, giving drugs to kids (Rakuyo's people, who handled the Family's own drug distribution, were morbidly aware of the consequences if _they_ did that), serial killers who did it for the rush (doing it for the paycheck was another story, they had guys like that on the payroll), etcetera. Many of the victims that were saved got the support they needed from the official system, but others became loyal new recruits. Many of the children rescued from this even grew up to become full Brothers and Sisters, taking the Edward name without caring just how their new Pops had gotten their ostensible parents to sign over guardianship.

"How bad?" Thatch sighed.

"Underage girls, kept in line by addiction to some particularly nasty drugs. They were found before the brain damage became permanent, but they're all in bad shape."

"Pops took care of them himself," Thatch stated, knowing where this was going.

"Yes."

 **-0-0-0-**

A few hours earlier

"Give me room," Edward Newgate smirked, as his Sons all obeyed, clearing a wide space between their Pop and the scum.

"It's very simple," the crimelord explained, as he slowly stripped off his jacked and shirt. "You kill me, you get to go free." With his chest free, the child slavers took in the sight of the impossibly muscular seventy-four year old man, and gulped.

"Take it or leave it," Marco drawled, helpfully throwing some long knives at their feet. "Otherwise we just gun you down."

The boldest one of them ducked down to grab a machete, but the old man was already in motion to kill them with his bare hands.

 **-0-0-0-**

Present

With another sigh as he rubbed his awesome hairdo, Thatch nodded, gave his thanks to Robin, and made his way out the door of his restaurant.

Waiting for him outside was his personal car: European, expensive, and armoured up like crazy. A bunch of Jozu's men were standing attentively beside clones of Thatch's vehicle. The 2nd Division handled all security matters, and it was their Leader who had proposed and enforced the practice of referring to all of their income sources by number. The theory being that instead of accidently blurting out about Vista's "casinos," you mentioned his "5th Division people."

As he drove, Thatch toyed with the idea on putting on some good, hard music, but decided to play it safe. No need to risk getting too distracted on a day like this. Especially since the cops would _love_ to pull him over.

The entire Family would never let him hear the end of it.

With almost military precision, the convoy of cars made their way downtown, before coming up to a large building complex, surrounded by other tall, quiet, structures. At random, Thatch used his turn signal to indicate a particular garage, and drove down underground.

The headquarters of the Whitebeard gang was Blamenco's masterpiece. His 6th Division handled all things related to construction –with '6th Division' admittedly being a both simpler and cooler way to address them, as opposed to all the related jobs they did. Like Thatch's people they also made a lot of money doing perfectly legitimate and normal building jobs. A lot of their workers were not even a part of the mob.

(What? Their union was both supportive and secretly working for their employer at the same, and had a host of excellent benefits. Especially the maternity and parental leave.) :D

However, they also snuck in secret rooms and tunnels where necessary. Lots of times they boarded it up, let someone buy it to throw off suspicion, and then a few years later bought it under a dummy company when the cops were no longer paying attention. Commissions from wealthy and/or people with concerns about legal attention, or just enjoyed the thrill of their own secret tunnels, also brought in a healthy profit.

In this case however, all of the buildings around here (honestly, Thatch had never checked if it was over a block in radius or farther) were built, owned, and inhabited by the Family. Underground tunnels that connected them together, including the parking lot Thatch had just driven into.

It was probably in violation of some legal code, but the 4th Division Commander only bothered to keep track of food regulations.

Parking his ride before a group of heavily armed men, Thatch checked his reflection in his rearview mirror, ensuring his pompadour was flawless. His escort drove right on by, and Thatch stepped out of his car with a jaunty air.

"Hey Oars," Thatch cheerfully called, tossing his keys to one of the man's lackeys to take care the vehicle.

"Hey Thatch," the man happily replied. Oars Oarsson was clearly of Viking descent, thick, long hair and beard, and the most massive man Thatch had ever seen. The pump-action shotgun in his hand looked like a pistol.

Yet for all of that, Oars was as trustworthy as a non-Family could be. His own street gang was one of the various smaller crime groups that worked for Pops. In return for his protection, they did what he said; which was basically a list of crimes (murder without cause, human slavery, rape, etc.) they were forbidden to do. The cops seemed incapable of comprehending how appreciative the small(er)-time crimes bosses like Oars were of this relationship, since old Edward Newgate also gave careful advice and assistance to them that granted a genuine sense of independence to go along with their rising profits.

While they were not exactly his Sons or Daughters, Newgate still appreciated it when men and women like Oars called him 'Pops.'

Knowing the drill, Thatch held his arms to the sides while Oars' boys went through the practices routines of scanning him with their doo-dads, and some physical pat-downs too. His car was searched, while he and Oars traded a little gossip.

" _Really!?_ When did this happen?" Thatch gasped.

"Just heard about it myself a few hours ago from the man himself," Oars grinned.

"Well it's about _time_ Namur got himself a girl," Thatch smirked. "Who is it?"

"Esmirel. Works for Izo. Looks like she and Namur met on a joint op."

"Huh," Thatch grunted, obviously lost in thought.

Namur of the 8th Division handled all the human smuggling. Not human trafficking, his boys killed people like that, or let Kingdew handle it. That said, if you wanted to come to the US or Europe and have a new life, his people got you and your family there safe and healthy, with no 'extra charges' or 'incentives.' False identities, temporary accommodations, list of advice, and even references that potential employees could contact and be answered by a smooth talker with perfect English. It was surprisingly affordable…because grateful customers might be willing to do some 'favours' in return, or turn to you for work.

His teams also handled it if you needed to go into hiding and get across border, and again they made sure everything they would need was already set up before they arrived.

 _Un_ fortunately for Namur, as good as he was as his job, he was a big guy with a notable hunch. Even worse, some time in his past, someone had played a 'joke' by filing Namur's all of teeth until they were pointy like a shark's.

Said jokester was swimming with the fishes now.

Pops did not care if it had been years ago and before Namur had been adopted, you. Did. Not. Mess. With. His. Kids.

Still, Namur had never been too successful at the dating scene, and too proud to pay for a lady. Or guy. Curiel could have provided him with either. Or both.

Shaking off those thoughts, Thatch beamed. "Hope he's in for a night of ribbing!" He and Oars exchanged a laugh, and then he was declared by security to be clean, and made his way inside.

Three long hallways and two staircases later (Pops did not believe in elevators, and given how many people they had killed using them, the others were fine with that), he made it to one of the various change rooms.

"Hey Izo, how ya doin'?" he greeted.

"Oh, hi Thatch," Izo returned. The crossdresser had just put aside his expensive ladies kimono, and was being helped into his tight black suit, pants, and white shirt.

There were so many entry points to the complex, that there were also several places for the Division Commanders to get into their formal gear. Enough that it was actually rare for two or more to meet at the same time.

"You never answered me," Thatch cockily pointed out.

"Prat," responded the head of the 5th Division, responsible for weapons 'distribution.' "For your information, I'm doing fine, except for wearing this monkey suit." It really did clash with Izo's hair, given how it was up in an artistic style of buns. To say nothing of the lipstick.

A man and woman, both in their twenties, were helping Izo with his tie. Secure in his sexuality, Thatch could confidently label them each as 'hot,' as were the lovely ladies who were presently helping him get out of his own work clothes.

The four of them were all former hookers of Curiel's. Under the 10th Division, they would have had excellent medical, along with legendary threats of what happened to those who did not understand 'No means no.' Regrettably, the vast majority of those prostitutes Curiel oversaw were not full Brothers and Sisters—there were just too many. So the ones helping Thatch and Izo prepare themselves, were those going through the process to become full members of the Family, and probably work for another Division to boot.

Thatch filled in Izo about the newest gossip regarding Namur, who expressed his own surprise. The attendants gave their own two cents, even adding a few extra details, but already Thatch could see how the stories were growing. Come tomorrow, Namur would count himself lucky if the rumours _only_ said he was dating two hot super-models who had a thing for hickies.

Finally, the two were resplendent in their black slacks and coats, with Thatch reflexively double-checking he had no food stains on his spotless white shirt, or shiny black shoes.

Pops was old school after all, and deserved the gesture of respect. Even Izo was willing to make an exception for him, without being asked.

That out of the way, the two of them set off for the gathering of the leaders of the world's most elite crime family.

 **-0-0-0-**

"—and then I'll break your ^&*)* # fingers!" roared Haruta. "See if I don't!"

Bemused, Izo and Thatch watched the leader of the 12th Division chew out someone on his cell phone. While Ace was the youngest Division Commander, Haruta _looked_ the part. He seemed so young, that every time he went to a bar, he was asked for his ID, and the staff always looked at it as if trying to find any proof it was forged.

Still, he handled all electronic issues for the Family with flair, from hacking computers, fake identities for Namur and everyone else to use, to security devices.

"If you _ever_ watch porn again while I'm paying you to do something else," Haruta went on, "I'll have someone from the 2nd Division pay you a visit! You think the rumours about their boss being a pyromaniac are made up!? Well I'll tell you, you #$%^ &—"

At this point, Thatch and Izo just walked past their Brother to open up the door he had been standing in front of. Unspoken tradition held that the Division Commanders did not talk business with each other in the 'throne room.' They had more important things to do.

Atmos and Blenheim were having their regular arm wrestling match.

Kingdew was cooing at and scratching the belly of Rakuyo's pet pit-bull, Macey.

Fossa –whose 15th Division had turned Pops' old prohibition era booze operation into a legitimate and profitable enterprise, whose shipping concealed various illicit activities— was appropriately running the bar. Thatch and Izo went there first, slipping past Curiel and Vista who were arguing about the music selection that was blaring in the background.

On the way, they got a glimpse through the half-open doors to Pops' personal quarters, and saw Jiru was looking him over. Jiru's 14th Division surprisingly ran a series of small hospitals, ostensibly under different owners, which operated smoothly. The upper-class ones brought in some elite clients who wanted security, or made them unknowingly vulnerable when the Family 'wanted a word.' In the same vein, the lower-class hospitals were a convenient place for rival gang members to stop by in an emergency. This was all classified of course, with most of those supposedly 'in the know,' believing that Jiru was 'only' responsible for handling the Family's personal medical concerns, and various underworld clinics.

After his rumoured exertion in killing those scum earlier, Pops doubtlessly needed a quick check-up. Hence the delay, since everyone was already here

Blamenco was eagerly talking to Jozu about a movie he had just watched (something about guns, hot chicks, alternate dimensions, hot chicks, explosions, and, shocker, hot chicks), with the massively muscled man asking for clarification on some part.

Finally reaching the bar, Fossa promptly gave Thatch and Izo their usual choices, patted them both on their shoulders, lit his cigar, and left to challenge Atmos who had just beaten Blenheim.

Wordlessly, Izo and Thatch flanked Namur and his guest, Esmirel herself.

"Love the make-up, darling," Izo drawled.

"Hey boss," she cheerfully returned to the leader of the 5th Division.

"Nuh uh," Thatch lightly scolded. "You hear Haruta outside?" –it was hard not to, even with the music Curiel had chosen at last. "In here, no shop talk. Just fun."

"You mean like saying how silly some of you looking in those suits," Esmirel grinned. Then she gave Namur a simpering look, "Except you of course, baby." They all laughed with her at that, while Namur tried to give his date a look of horror before breaking down.

"So what're you two doing after the meeting?" Thatch asked.

"Depends on what happens, but we had dinner together already, and if there's time we'll catch a movie."  
"Not the one Blamenco's spoiling, I hope," Izo smirked.

"Nah, it's my choice this time," Esmirel sadistically smiled.

"Whoops, watch out man," ribbed Thatch.

"Always," Namur grinned back.

"So," and now Esmirel looked a bit more serious, eyes becoming a little colder. "No warning from the big Brothers to treat Namur nice?"

They could all see the minefield there, which was emphasized by how amongst all of the leaders of the Family, who were all present now, none of them were women. There was a glass ceiling for advancement, and obviously someone would wonder if Esmirel was using Namur to try and further her ambitions.

Thatch decided to just cut to the chase. "Look I love Pops as much as you do," –and he knew she did, or she would not be here– "but yeah, he's a bit old fashioned regarding ladies." None of them were allowed to carry guns for crying out loud!

"Don't you worry though," Izo picked up, "we trust you, and we know Namur can take care of himself."

She blew out a long breath. "And if I was a problem, Marco would've taken care of me already." None of the three men in earshot disputed the obvious. "And when he takes over –hopefully in another fifty years!— maybe things'll change."

"Don't you worry," Namur gently said. "It will. Plus he's definitely going to be in charge!"

"Darn tootin'!" Thatch agreed, aiming to lower the tension further. "He knows that all of us will gang up on him and tie him down till he agrees!"

Then a shiver went down Thatch, Izo, and Namur's spine. Spinning around, the found the man in question leaning against the far corner. Wearing the same uniform as everyone else, what set him apart was the tuft of hair on his head like a pineapple, as well as a sharp pair of glasses he wore (no one knew if he actually needed them). The unimpressive man gave them all a lazy smile, and they nervously waved 'hello,' feeling like the baby siblings caught by their older brother with their hands in the cookie jar.

Marco, the leader of the 1st Division, was in charge of running the day-to-day affairs, and ensuring the smooth coordination between the Divisions. He was the one who made everything work, and as Pops got older and older, shouldered more of the burden of making sure everyone in the Mafia was hearty and hale. _All_ of them.

Then Marco shot a meaningful glance at Pops room, and they knew from his angle he was looking at one of the wall mirrors to see that it was nearly time to start.

"Guess I'd better be going," Esmirel sighed again.

"Sorry, Dove," Namur apologized.

"Don't you dare apologize," she hissed, before pulling him in for a deep kiss. "You go do your job to support the Family." Then with an eye-catching roll of her hips, she sauntered out. A few seconds later, Haruta hurried in.

The fourteen men then made their way into Pops personal room, to find Jiru finishing up, and the last of their august assembly.

Sleeping.

Standing up.

(Yes, the whole deal, with his eyes closed and rhythmic snores).

All of them, from Edward Marco to Edward Fossa, carried the Family name. Anyone who joined up, was officially adopted. Ace however, was the sole exception, but only because Portgas was his _mother's_ surname. Her fate was such a tearjerker, that no one could be upset that their resident pyromaniac of a brother did not have 'Edward' in his name.

They had first met the punk in an incident involving several of their Family accusing a bartender of beating them up without provocation. When Marco had personally dragged the hothead in, Ace had defiantly defended his actions, claiming they had gotten drunk and too full of themselves. In the end, they had believed him, and started wondering what the (secretly adopted) grandson of a legendary navy man was doing serving drinks and a bar.

(The answer was that Vice-Admiral Garp was a jerk when he learnt that Ace was not joining the military, he left all college debts for the young man to pay off).

One thing led to another, and Ace soared through their ranks.

The 2nd Division had originally been for enforcing the deliverance of protection money. Ace had re-geared it towards arson, usually to collect insurance, dispose of evidence, leave a hearty message, etc.

Once word got around that the guy now in charge of the collecting dues had a (deserved) reputation as having an unhealthy relationship with fire, there had been little trouble.

And that was without getting into how his Devil Fruit Power was that of a fire logia!

Right now however, he looked more like a joke.

Snoring in his wrinkled white shirt that has clearly been shoved on him, along with the coat. Tie askew. Some poor fool had likely been forced to get those stiff legs into those pants.

The helpful individual had also applied some face paint already, going for the traditional 'connect-the-dots' on the freckles. Even better, the crayon was sticking out of the back pocket of Ace's pants for someone else to use.

Then the doors to the room slammed shut, jerking Ace awake. Eyes wide in momentary confusion as he sputtered, he still quickly remembered where he was and what was happening. Face straightening into something more professional, he briskly stepped back to take his place between Marco and Jozu in the semi-circle, as they basked in the presence of the sitting figure before them.

The man who had forged their crime syndicate. Their Family.

Free of internal greed or jealousy. Self-sustaining. Able to be as close to moral and functional members of society as criminals of their caliber could be. An organization that almost seemed _too perfect_.

Whitebeard.

 **-0-0-0-**

Edward Newgate gave a proud smile as he looked at his sons.

Each of them held wealth, power, and influence at their fingertips, and it meant nothing to them. Only the love of the men standing side by side with them, and the rest of their Brothers and Sisters.

It was enough to make an old man cry with joy.

 _Which of course is part of the problem_ , Whitebeard thought with regret, resplendent within his own black and white suit.

 _Of course, I've another issue to deal with first._

"Ace," he growled lightly, "do you remember what I asked you to take care of last night?"

To his credit, the little scamp seemed unconcerned at being pulled into the spotlight. He only shifted a little guiltily as he tried to remember what he had done wrong. "Uhm, you wanted me to burn down that restaurant Big Mom really likes. The one Streusen runs. Because you found out how she was trying to kill her daughters, Pudding, Praline, Lola, and Chiffon for leaving that wack job they call a mother." Indeed, all four young ladies had been found and relocated by the Straw Hat Gang.

"That's right," Whitebeard allowed, and now his other Sons were struggling to suppress their mirth. "And do you remember _how_ I asked you to do it?"

"Uhm," and now Ace was starting to struggle. He just _knew_ there was something he was forgetting, but could not remember the details.

"You were told to do it discretely," Marco answered. "Dis-cret-el-ly. As in, make it look like an accident."

Now it was starting to come back to Ace, just as Haruta pulled up the big-screen that made up most of one wall, and played a YouTube clip.

It displayed said restaurant burning, yes. Alas, someone had also very creatively arranged it so that near the top of the building, there was a picture artistically drawn –using actual fire and flammable liquids— of Charlotte Linlin in a…compromising position with several barn animals. Several such pictures in fact. Along with various curse words spelled out.

"Does that _look_ like an accident, Ace?" Marco drawled.

Thatch whistled in appreciation. "Seven hundred thousand views and climbing."

"Oh yeah," Ace deadpanned as it all came back to him. "Me and the boys kinda got drunk before we headed out, and there may have been some strippers, and…yeah." He looked at the scene in appreciation for a few seconds. "It _could've_ been an accident. A coincidence."

"Not even our pet lawyers could sell that," Marco flatly said.

Groaning, Ace slumped over. "Alright, you're right. I'm sorry Pops," and he genuinely sounded like it. They feared a disapproving look from their Father more than they feared a bullet or prison time.

(They would last a week in prison before they were broken out, even if an entire wall had to be torn down.)

"I'm afraid, that it's in Marco's hands," Whitebeard sorrowfully said, and they all paled at his words. Except Jiru, who looked like he was about to cry. "I'm getting too old, and it's time I started handing over even more to Marco to take care of."

The man in question appeared too horrified to answer.

"No, Pops, you can't mean it!" Ace gasped. The others started to join in, but Whitebeard raised an authoritative hand.

"I'm sorry," he rumbled. "That is life. I still have a few years left in me, but for the sake of the Family we have to start preparing ourselves."

The Division Commanders were exchanging wild glances at each other. Ace and Thatch exchanged a particular significant look, both men figuring that the only way to make this nightmare go away was some sort of distraction. Yet what could—

There was a blinding flash of light, and they all disappeared.

 **-0-0-0-**

Captain Edward 'Whitebeard' Newgate of the Whitebeard Pirates, stood proud and tall upon his flagship the _Moby Dick_. The snot-nosed punk 'Straw Hat' Luffy was tearing an impressive swath through the marines as he fought his way out of the frozen bay, with his parentage just being revealed to boot.

Then a sudden flash of light shone over the battlefield, before condensing and lowering down upon the ice of the frozen bay, right where the fighting was the most concentrated. Both sides cleared a space, and then with another bright burst, seventeen figures appeared.

Whitebeard blinked in shock at the figures, all near-images of himself and his Division Commanders. In suits!

There were differences of course, for example they were all 'regular' sized, more akin for men of the Blue Seas; not a single one of them was over two meters tall. And again, they were all wearing frankly tacky _suits_! Totally unbecoming of pirates.

Oh, and Ace and Thatch were with them.

A living, breathing Thatch! With his pompadour as large as life.

 _And just when you think the Grand Line is done surprising you…_ the Emperor sighed.

 **-0-0-0-**

If it wasn't for the fact that the movie Blamenco had just seen –and had been telling Jozu about so loudly that everyone else had caught bits of it—involved alternate universes, and thus alternate duplicates of the character, the gangsters would have been a bit more freaked out.

As it was, scanning with haki and their eyes took care of the basics.

And pinching themselves to make sure it was not a dream.

Although a nightmare would be more like it, given how they could see someone who looked distinctly like Ace, chained down to a scaffold with guards on either side of him. Guards with drawn weapons. Even from way over here, they looked pretty sharp.

Belatedly, Thatch nudged their own Ace, and gestured at his face. Grimacing, the 2nd Division Leader started to wipe off the face paint, eyes never leaving the version of himself who appeared to awaiting execution.

Still, Whitebeard had not lived to become an _old_ mob boss by getting mixed up any old fight he saw going on.

More importantly, he and his Sons were unnerved by how they could feel the distinctive absence of Thatch's haki signature. While there were several possible explanations for this, the looks these…counterparts were giving their Thatch, were concerning. It was clear his Son was working to keep it in stride, despite being uncomfortable. For such a nosy man, he was being remarkable silent in finding his other self.

Putting on a cocky grin to show how unconcerned he was despite his surreal circumstances, he yelled up to the larger version of himself who was standing on the ginormous ship. For anyone else, it would appear arrogant, but as someone who was a near-duplicate of Edward Newgate, it was appropriate. "So am I to take it that you're some sort of big shot in this world? Causing trouble for this world's police."

PirateWhitebeard snorted dismissively. "Even better. I'm a Father. In fact, I'm rather busy right now from saving my Sons from these blasted marines. If you don't get in our way, we can always continue this conversation later."

The mobster gave an approving nod. "Good answer. And yes, we'll be making our way out of here. I don't see any reason why I or my Family should get involved." At least not yet. _Now to just walk out of here like I know what I'm doing. Of course, the question is: which direction?_

It was at that point that MafiaAce finished wiping off his face, and was recognized.

"Hey," a random marine suddenly cried out. "If that Portgas D. Ace is a duplicate of the pirate one, then he's got demon blood too! We have to kill him!"  
"Marco," Godfather Newgate ordered without missing a beat.  
Smoothly, Marco drew a pistol from his under his suit and fired.  
"GAAAAAAAH! AW NO WHY AH NO AAAAGGH!"  
Everyone flinched and winced at the sight of the marine rolling on the ground, clutching at his bloody groin, except for the criminal leaders and their eldest sons. Edward Marco was a _cold_ one when protecting his family, while Marco the Phoenix appreciated the message.

MafiaAce was the only other one who made no reaction, staring at the marines with a foreboding glint.

"As I was saying," the smaller version of Whitebeard continued, ignoring the screams for mercy and help while he unlimbered his military-grade shotgun. "Would you mind letting me and boys engage in teaching these punks a few lessons on why you do not mess with our family?"  
Grinning, Emperor Whitebeard nodded.  
With his own maniacal look, the arsonist Ace began to advance upon the marines, who were backing away fearfully. "Got demon's blood you say?" he questioned, unsheathing the long knife he always carried at his side, "Last time I thought that about myself it ended in a suicide attempt and Marco punching me in the face. Hard. But I have no qualms showing you why I'm the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Mafia!"  
He lit his other hand on fire and headed towards the marines menacingly. They had known this would be a dangerous battle before them, but now the nightmare of the Whitebeard Pirates had doubled. Even worse, now they had to face one who carried the foul blood of Gold Roger! Horrified, a marine captain whispered, "Monster!"  
"Oh I'll show you a monster all right." Ace chuckled, eyeing the man dangerously, before shooting towards him, knife raised. "I'm going to show you all!"  
The marine captain tried to protect himself by lifting his sword, but his attempt was futile as Ace circled behind him and grabbed the back of his head and slit his throat. "So, anyone else wish to tell me something?"

"And this is why I recommended therapy," Haruta deadpanned as he secured his I-Pad.

"Well, they _are_ trying to killing him," Izo argued while pulling two immaculate pistols out from under his coat. "Besides, he's gotten better. Now it's only whenever anyone talks about his biological father. Kinda."  
Whitebeard turned to his pirate counterpart. "I assume your Ace also causes quite the trouble then?"  
"But of course!" his counterpart rumbled. "My Sons, help our...alternate dimension family members show the marines why you don't mess with us!"  
With the roar they shook their weapons into the sky, ready for battle.

 **-0-0-0-**

Taking a step back, Ace quickly started to disrobe.

Ace felt stares on him as he removed his dress shirt and folded it before laying it on the ground alongside his suit jacket. He looked around, "What are you looking at? I'm not a stripper!"  
"Anymore." he heard Thatch cough out.  
"That was a long time ago, so shut up. Also, this is my favorite suit! I don't want it to get ruined!"  
"Ace, that's like your only suit, since you never buy them." Izou pointed out exasperatedly.  
"Exactly! I'd have to actually go shopping for another one of these death traps if I ruin this one!" the fire user complained.

Then Kingdew ruined it for Ace by whistling. "Whooo! Take it all off!"

"Shut it!"

"Y'know Ace," Thatch cheerfully said as he got involved. "Even if they might like the strip show, I doubt these guys'll pay you like your former customers!"

"I will burn that ridiculous hairstyle of yours!"  
"Philistine! You just don't want to admit how awesome it is!"

"What I want to know," PirateVista said as he twirled his mustache, "is about him working as a stripper. Ours does have a tendency to walk around shirtless after all."

 **-0-0-0-**

Casually, Marco the Phoenix walked up to his twin who was still wearing his black suit and tie, with a white shirt. "What's with the glasses?" he curiously asked. He did need them sometimes himself, except his vision was still good enough to get by in battle for now. Besides, they were supposed to be the same person, right? Slouching in a way that contrasted how sharply dressed he was, the other man lightly fingered them. "I'm guessing it's part of how our world's different from yours. I can get by with haki without them, but I seriously need them." He gestured towards the resumed battle, with most of the rest of the Division Commanders already getting into it. Both Whitebeards were on the _Moby Dick_ , conferring with each other. "Shall we?"

"After you," the pirate smiled.

With perfect synchronization, they made their way through the marines as if they were but wheat before the blade. "So what's this about striking a Brother?" PirateMarco calmly asked.

MafiaMarco just gave an annoyed grunt. "Ace was drunk and suicidal, so I punched him. Then lectured him about how much he really means to us. Only I'm allowed to do something like that to family. Got any problem with that?"

"No. You made the right call."

They continued in comfortable silence (while pounding on the Navy) for another minute, before PirateMarco's curiosity got the better of him again. "By the way, how old are you?"

"Oh, I'm in my forties. We thought at first that my Devil Fruit my slow down my age, but now we figure it's more that I just naturally look this young."

"So Devil Fruits really work different for you guys then?" clarified PirateMarco.  
"Well, it is a really rare drug. The scientist who made it is dead, and they haven't been able to reverse-engineer it. Guess it's different here?"

"You could say that. For the record, I'm _much_ older that forty. Older than Pops, really."

"Wow, that's weird."

"Less than you'd think."

Then Thatch stuck his head in. "Are you two going to start making out?" Laughing he took off before they could react.

Seeing the pale face of his pirate self, Marco the mobster put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He's just goofing around, because he doesn't want to think about why he's not here. Or why you guys keep looking at him strangely."

 **-0-0-0-**

"So," the pirate Izo, immaculate in his kimono said, "about that suit?"

The gangster counterpart held up a warding hand. "I only wear this for official meetings. Pops doesn't care what I wear the rest of the time, and even then probably wouldn't care if I showed up for the bigwig stuff wearing something as dashing as what you've got on. It's just that he's a little old fashioned, and I do it to show how much I appreciate him."

"Ah, fair enough. But after this we've _got_ to compare beauty tips!"

"But of course!"

 **-0-0-0-**

Both Namur's looked at each other.

The Fishman looked at what he would look like if he were human, while the human looked the image of himself if he were inhuman, as too many called him behind his back.

"Let's not talk about this," they said as one. Without another word, they turned to beating down marines. Much less complicated.

 **-0-0-0-**

His expression carefully impassive so as to not panic his men, Fleet Admiral Sengoku assessed the situation.

Two Whitebeards meant that flipping the loyalties of one of Whitebeard's allies would never work.

The Pacifista were not yet in position. Worse there were now enough Division Commander-class pirates down there so that when the human weapons did show up, they could divert enough of their powerhouses to turn the Pacifistas into mulch, while still retaining their pre-Arrival momentum.

Aokiji and Kizaru were diligently maintain their cool, reassuring their subordinates. Only a few (and perfectly understandable) explanations of surprise and confusion slipping past their lips. Akainu however was snarling like a rabid dog as he beheld how Sin was multiplying, and imperiling Justice.

"Cut the video feed. Raise the Containment Wall," he sternly ordered. Silently, he offered his apologies to the thousands of courageous young marines who would be left trapped within the bay and the abattoir it was to become. This was war.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Cowards," snarled Ace the arsonist, as looked down into the chaos below.

The Navy –he was still unsure _whose_ navy they belonged too, except that was unimportant— had been in full retreat at first, with Ace and his Family and these duplicates carrying the day. Guys like Jozu or Marco were slightly yet noticeably not as monstrous as their pirate selves, but their weaponry was far more advanced, evening it out.

Then those uniformed scum raised this massive walls and started pouring in cannon-fire and lava to kill them all.

Even their own comrades.

Desperate to try and do something, Ace had taken to the sky like a firework to land atop the wall, to assess the situation.

Fortunately, it appeared the trap had never been designed to contain _two_ Whitebeards.

Pops and not-quite-as-cool-as-Pops were hammering away at the buckling metal, but clearly needed more time. _Or should it be Big Pop and Small Pop? No, focus. Alright then_ , he grinned manically, _I guess I should whip up a distraction?_

Leaning over the wall to the side with the enemy, he called out to them. "Hey losers!" Successfully, he grabbed the attention of all the men in white. _Wow, they really are all men. Worse than with the gang even. At least Pops keeps it from becoming a total sausage-fest_. That gave him another idea. "When we're done here," he called out, "I'm going to every island I can find, walk into every bar, and ask all the lovely ladies which of them wants to be the mother of the Pirate King's grandson! I'll swamp you with babies!"

The horror on their faces was _delicious_.

 **-0-0-0-**

"And that right there is the downside of him getting over the worst of his daddy issues," MafiaVista drawled. "It's like he's unleashing all that repressed sexual frustration like he's going to die tomorrow."

 **-0-0-0-**

"But first," Ace went on, drunk on the attention and messing with them, "I'm gonna wreck you all while listening to some sweet tunes!"

Then he dug out his music player, a gift from Franky. It was about the size of an I-Pod, but had twice the memory of anything else on the market, and was proven to be fireproof. Even better for right now, it could blare out music loud enough for the entire island to hear (proven after an unfortunate incident involving Luffy, and the original Pokémon theme song blaring across all of New York for twenty hours). Ignoring the sailor cops, he started to scroll through the list to find the perfect lyrics for this.

"Hey Ace," Edward Haruta yelled catching on to what his brother was planning. "Play 'Sons of Plunder'!"

"No," Vista smirked, "'Indestructible'!"

"Halestorm's 'Fire'!"

"'You're Going Down'!"

"'Headstrong'!"

"Sexy and I Know It!"

"Disney's 'A Pirate's Life'!"

The mobsters turned as one to stare at Namur, unbashful beside his shark-like counterpart. "C'mon, it'll mess with them like crazy."

Throwing his head back to laugh, Ace was sorely tempted to do so.

Then a single –and poorly aimed— bullet, shattered his music player.

Face perfectly composed, Ace looked down at a man holding a shaking rifle. "You shouldna done that."

Lips drawn back from his teeth in a snarl, Ace screamed as he leapt down, surrounded by hungry flames.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace's little stunt paid off, especially when both Marcos and a single Crocodile joined in. The Three Admirals and other marines were so busy trying to kill them all, that it gave those trapped in the bay the necessary breather they needed to regroup. Once the rest of Ace's Family, along with the Pirates, came through the gap made by both the guy who was supposed to be Oars – _He'll get a kick out of that when he hears! Our Oars that is_ — and both Whitebeards, Ace finally caught up to him.

Luffy.

Monkey D. Luffy, the Straw Hat Pirate.

His little brother from another world.

Just as insane as his little brother at that, given how he had gone over the Wall _before_ Ace had managed too. Utterly single-minded in accomplishing his mission of rescuing the other Ace.

"Hey!" Ace cheerfully said as he finally caught up, burning a dozen marines in one go.

"Hey," Luffy, calmly said, focused on the fight.

Blinking, Ace tried again. "So, you're a pirate, huh?"  
"Yep," was the pirate's flat remark, rubbery limbs flailing away.

Now Ace was really confused. _What? No 'Ace, when did you clone yourself?' Or 'Why didn't anyone ever tell me I had two brothers?', or something like that?_

"Oy!" he snapped. "Is that all you've got to say to this!?"

Whipping his stretching leg around to knock over marines and spin in a circle, Luffy stopped to glare at MafiaAce.

It was rather intimidating for the latter, being on the other side of that for once.

"Look Not-Ace, I'm busy trying to save stupid Ace! I don't have time to talk, so focus on helping me or go away!"

Jaw dropping for a second, he regained his wits. "What do you mean 'Not-Ace'? I am Ace!"

"Oh?" Luffy ducked under a sword-stroke and decked a commodore in the jaw. "Were you there when we went hunting for wolves and bears for food? Did you pull me out of the crocodiles whenever they ate me? Are you the one I exchanged a drink of brotherhood with?"  
All the eavesdroppers were a little stunned at this.

"Waaaait, what was that about crocodiles?" MafiaAce asked.

 _If they weren't criminals_ , Sengoku thought, _I'd pity them for being raised by Garp_.

He had known better than to leave Rocinante with Garp without another adult supervising!

"No?" Luffy went on, as if the copy of his precious older brother had not said anything. "In that case you aren't my brother, and you're Not-Ace! So keep fighting or get out of the way!"

With a single punch, Not-Ac—*cough* MafiaAce sent an inferno streaking forward that cleared a path to the Execution Scaffold. "Wow," he sheepishly said. "He sure told _me_ off!"

He was starting to appreciate more why so many people back home were so willing to follow his own idiot little brother. It was not just because of all that burning charisma, but the simple yet piercing wisdom he possessed.

 **-0-0-0-**

It had been a vicious battle, but the outcome was determined from the start.

Working alongside their duplicates, Marco and Jozu had flattened Aokiji and Kizaru. Both Whitebeards relished sending Akainu into a crevice that now cut off a part of the island.

The Warlords were either defecting (Hancock), beaten (Moriah and Kuma), or just walked away to get drunk (Hawkeye).

Together, Luffy and MafiaAce had tag-teamed Doflamingo, burning his strings and pounding him flat.

The best part was Luffy's finishing move combining Gears 2 and 3, dramatically roaring for all to hear that he would not be stopped here. He _would_ be the **Pirate King** , and there was nothing anyone could do about it!

In the chaos however, they discovered that Sengoku had ordered Garp to arrange a massive strategic withdrawal. Realizing the day was lost, most of the marines had quietly retreated and taken sail.

"You will not pursue my men," Sengoku bargained, holding a knife to Ace's throat. "If you give your word, Fire Fist goes free." He pointedly said nothing about his own fate.

"Done," both Whitebeards agreed. Then, out of respect, they _only_ punched him across the island.  
"Ace!"

"Luffy!"

Every one of the hardened criminals stop to smile as the two brothers reunited, wrapped in a warm hug.

After a few minutes of this, 'Fire Fist' Ace walked over to his copy, who was trying to get his suit back on. "Thanks."

"No problem."  
"Uhm," and now PirateAce looked awkward. "About that stuff you said…"

It took MafiaAce an instant to figure it out. "You mean accepting my heritage? Yeah, it wasn't easy, but," now he shot his fellow gangsters a warm look, "I've got a great Family. Not to mention a wonderful little brother." Putting a hand on PirateAce's shoulder, he finished, "And it looks like you've got that too."

They stared in silence, looking into each other's eyes, with MafiaKingdew and MafiaHaruta _just_ about to yell something about the duo making out—

" ** _DRAGON'S SON!_** "

Roaring, a bleeding Akainu erupted out of the ground in a torrent of lava, aiming straight for the one his fanaticism saw as both the greatest, and most vulnerable, threat.

Luffy's could only stare as Akainu's fist of magma came at him, and both Ace's knew they were too far away to make it in time.

" **Black Vortex!** "

Sakazuki's eyes widened like dinner plates as his normal human fist was stuck within the iron grasp of Edward Thatch, hand simmering with the colour of darkest night.

"Back off. He's going to be the Pirate King," Thatch growled, raised his pistol, and plugged a bullet each into the large target's that were the admiral's eyes.

Even his haki powerless against the power the Devil Fruit drug had granted Thatch, Akainu collapsed to the ground. Dead.

"…I'm naming my firstborn 'Thatch'," PirateAce said aloud.

The tension burned off as they all broke out laughing.

 **-0-0-0-**

The wounded were being tended too (yes, even Oars), ships were free to make sail, and sentries were about for any final surprises.

The War of the Best was won, and the Best were the pirates and gangsters.

Ivankov and the Izo's were sharing beauty tips.

Hancock was creeping the men out with her flowery descriptions of Luffy.

Both Whitebeards were gently lecturing Squard on how blood did not matter.

The Namurs were taking a selfie together, with MafiaNamur telling about his girlfriend.

The Haruta's were comparing and contrasting Den Den Mushi versus I-Phones.

Everyone was a hair's breadth away from pulling out the booze to party

(Red Hair Shanks was offshore aboard the _Red Force_ , trying to figure out why Hawkeye was stealing his liquor. Before the Emperor was going to let the swordsman get drunk, he was going to make him be more specific about Luffy being 'Okay,' darnit!)

Then the peace and tranquility were shattered.

"Hey, Not-Ace?" Luffy chirped out.

Sighing, the gangster just accepted it. "Yes?"

"Your nakama said something that confused me."

MafiaAce shrugged. "If my 'nakama' you mean my Family?"  
"Obviously," Luffy said, clearly thinking 'Not-Ace' was being dense.

"Well what is it?"

"They said you were a 'str-i-pper.' What's that mean? Is it someone who prepares meat?"

Everyone stared at that innocent face, and had no idea where to even start. Or any desire to.

"Right!" MafiaAce declared with a strained voice. "Time to head back home!"

Obligingly, a sphere of white light appeared invitingly a few meters away.

Emperor Whitebeard looked at his smaller counterpart. "If that's what brought you here, you really should get through. The Grand Line is a strange place, and there's no telling how long that'll stay, or when it'll come back again."

Disappointed, the gangsters quickly assembled to enter the apparent gateway.

"Aw, but we could've had an awesome party," Luffy moaned. "And you never answered my question."

With a forced laugh, MafiaAce wave a hasty goodbye. "Sorry, but we've really got to get going. Who knows what's happening back home!" Then he gave a more genuine chuckle. "Besides, after all this I want to get back home to make sure _my_ Luffy isn't up to something as crazy as you. I'm afraid if he's out of my sight for too long, he'll do something like burn the world down."

 **-0-0-0-**

Mafia Universe

"But we were only gone for a few hours," shrieked Marco, his normal calm demeanor forgotten. His Father and Brothers gaping in disbelief beside him.

"Try six months," groused Squard, leader of the Whirl Spider Gang. "After Pops disappeared," giving a respectful nod towards the stunned older man, "there was a power vacuum, and we had to fill it fast before it got out of hand. Luffy seemed perfect for it." He stopped for a moment as he tried to rearrange his thoughts.

"And for a while it went perfectly, minus a couple of bumps, but then the government came after Nico Robin, wanting to arrest or kill her for something or other, and Luffy declared war on them." Squard distractedly scratched his head. "They thought he was bluffing of course, but it turns out that Franky made up a nuclear bomb a while back because Luffy asked if he could."

"Waaaaaaait," Jozu whimpered. "You mean that storage shed Franky rented from us? That big crate he put in it…?" The usually stoic man obviously wanted to be reassured that he was wrong.

"Yeah, that'd be the one," Squard sighed. "Anywho, one thing lead to another, and well…" he gestured at the scene of New York City.

It was something out of a post-apocalyptic movie or video game, the buildings mostly blackened and burnt out.

"The Straw Hats can be a taaaad possessive of each other," one of Squard's gangsters spoke up. They could hear in his tone that it was a topic the man did not like to think about too deeply.

"At any rate," Squard threw Ace a rueful grin as the man's chin continued to slowly drop, "as the older brother of Godfather Luffy, I wouldn't be too worried about America's new supreme overlord." He stopped in thought. "Huh, what would that make you? Goduncle?"

There were posters scattered about, coloured red, blue, black and white in the style of Barack Obama's presidential campaign posters. Depicted was a stern Luffy, glaring and pointing at the reader, the caption below reading: 'I Want Your Meat.'

The multiple interpretations –even if they knew his actual intentions— made it more than a _little_ unnerving.

"But wait," Marco cried, grasping for straws that this was just some sort of epic prank. "Someone else would've stopped him once they saw what was happening here. What about Russia?"

"Yeeeeah," Squard rubbed the back of his head awkwardly again as he tried to figure out how to phrase this. "Do you perchance remember Luffy's friend, Traffy... I mean ...Trafalgar Law…?"

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Alright, it is safe to say that this story really got away from me :-P**

 **Inspiration from** **"Burning Rubber" by Kitsune Foxfire.**

 **Again, a round of applause to both rose7anne101 and silverwolf1249 for making this possible!**

 **-0-**

 **Please review, and I will get back to you.**


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

 _Well, he's entertaining at least_ , Whitebeard conceded as the snot-nosed rookie kicked that upstart Crocodile away, the arrogant man's words confirming that the Emperor's "savior" was indeed Ace's pipsqueak brother.

 _That trick with falling from the sky alone will be enough for my Sons to laugh about for years_.

And then he saw the hat.

Seeing it for himself without a bounty picture to distort the image, Whitebeard now recognized it immediately from far too many battles in bygone years. He had even held it once, while in his other hand he had gripped its former owner: Red Hair.

 _To wear that hat…especially given who originally gave it to him…and Shanks lost his arm about the same time in the East Blue,_ Whitebeard realized. He asked the brat brother confirm its origins, but frankly it was only a formality by this point.

 **-0-**

 _It was an unprecedented meeting between two Emperors, and both of them were trying to keep it cordial, if only because neither of them wanted to waste their time fighting each other._

 _"_ _Now I can ask you face-to-face: what enemy did you give that left arm to?"_

 _"_ _This huh?" the other Emperor asked, pausing as if in memory. "Let's just say, I made a bet…on a new era."_

 **-0-**

 _So Red Hair marked this one who would be among those defining the new era? As the one to surpass him…?_

For Whitebeard could think of no other reason for that man to bestow his most priceless possession. It was the same act of faith he himself displayed whenever a new Son took up his mark: the hope that with his example and guidance they would become greater than their Father.

Throughout this epiphany, his expression never shifted as he stared down at the unassuming child. _Too young to be sailing these seas already_ , Whitebeard decided he needed to test Ace's little brother. Just to see what Shank's had seen ten years ago, _Bet the kid was still slurping down juice and learning to tie his shoelaces. Even Ace always emphasized that while Luffy was tough, he was nowhere near Ace's skill. And yes, he burnt down Enies Lobby, but that wasn't a military installation, and they were doubtless complacent after centuries without challenge. Marineford is another story, and no matter how skilled he might be, this is no place for a rookie_.

The aged Emperor called upon his vast authority, knowing that with hardly a gesture he was now vastly more intimidating as he stared down at the interloper, "Have you come to save your brother?" he asked with a gravelly voice.

"That's right!"

"Don't you understand what you're up against!?" Whitebeard angrily growled, slamming the butt of his prized bisento down on the deck, sending out a small shockwave of air, his loud words now drawing the attention of the nearby marines and pirates as they stopped to watch this confrontation between the newcomer and the leader of one of the clashing armies.

The air between them seemed to ripple, with the boy bowing his head. _Disappointing_ , Whitebeard thought, still glaring down, _was I mistaken? Or did something happen to him after Red Hair gave him the hat?_

Then the face shot back up, forehead veins throbbing with rage as he shouted up with wildly waving arms and fists. "Shut up! That's not for you to decide!" and Whitebeard's eyebrow twitched, "I know perfectly well! You wanna be the Pirate King, don't you?!" The next words echoed across the battlefield as nearly every combatant froze in disbelief, "I'm the one who'll be the Pirate King!"

 _Interesting!_ Whitebeard thought, not that he would ever show his respect to the rude punk. _But is it just a bluff?_ Veins on his own head visible with fury, he lifted up his bisento and twirled it between his fingers to create a miniature hurricane, and when the end of the weapon came down on the deck this time the force knocked over unwary men down on the ice from dozens of meters away.

The kid never blinked.

And Whitebeard's glare turned into a smile, "You're pretty damn cheeky…I won't show mercy if you slow me down, you spoiled brat!"

"I'm doing what I want to do!" And then he braced himself to run forward, "I'm gonna save Ace myself!"

Then the whelp paused and glanced back at Whitebeard. "By the way, we ran into that Teach, Blackbeard guy in Impel Down. He didn't want to fight us, and we had to get to Ace," at this Luffy's expression darkened in fury, before straightening out. Clearly this brat was someone who let himself be fueled by rage, not controlled by it. "But he went past us deeper into the prison, even though he's supposed to be a Warlord. Thought you should know."

With that, Straw Hat leapt into the fray.

 **-0-0-0-**

On Sabaody Archipelago, all the reporters gasped in disbelief at this revelation about Blackbeard.

Members of the Worst Generation were wondering if their rival had honestly blurted that out by chance, or if Straw Hat was hiding some sort of cunning wisdom as he revealed what Teach was up to on an international scale. Regardless, this changed things.

 **-0-0-0-**

It only took an instance for Whitebeard to put all the pieces together: _Teach wanted us here attacking the marines, and being a Warlord was part of it. He probably used the title to find a way to access Impel Down. With the Dark-Dark Fruit he would be a serious threat to whatever defenses the prison can muster, even without Straw Hat having wrecked them on his way in and out. He means to eliminate me after I've been weakened fighting these scum. And if it's Impel Down_ … _filled with all those enemies of mine I've defeated…_

Teach the Traitor was the one the Emperor really wanted dead, the marines were only secondary. Nevertheless, that was no reason not to rub this mess in the Navy's face.

"Jinbe!" he roared. "Is what the snotnose said true?"

"Yes Pops!" barked the Fishman. "We did meet Teach in Impel Down. He went in the same direction as Warden Magellan was approaching us from, and we don't know what happened, except that the Warden was chasing us again shortly later."

"No, that cockroach is still alive," growled Whitebeard. "He wouldn't have gone this far without a plan. Revolutionary Emporio Ivankov!"

Not a fool, the Okama King snapped to attention. "Yes?"

"What prisoners were available for Blackbeard to recruit within Impel Down?"

"Oh my!" Ivankov gasped as he realized the full implications. "In Level 6 were the worst of the worst! The ones the World Government erased from history itself! But the ones that come to mind first are Sanjuan Wolf, Vasco Shot, Catarina Devon, and Avalo Pizarro!"

 **-0-0-0-**

The civilians on Sabaody Archipelago were very confused now, even as they reported in to others what was happening. The World Government would never cover up criminals like that, would they? Although some of those names _did_ sound familiar.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Are we still out of contact with Impel Down?" snapped Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

"Yes sir!" a subordinate reported.

"Grrr, Whitebeard's probably right on the money. Blasted pirate!" Sengoku snarled. He knew this was being broadcasted over the Den-Den Mushi, except cutting the feeds now would jeopardize their plan to discredit Whitebeard as an 'honourary' pirate. Not to mention such a sloppy cover-up would only serve to vindicate his words to many. No, they had to deal with Whitebeard first, secure Impel Down, and then tell the world there had never been a problem. Of course, if some managed to escape, of course Sengoku would send warnings to all the neighbouring nations.

"I'll take care of it," Garp grunted as he stood up.

"Oh?" Sengoku skeptically said.

"Whitebeard's right on the money and we both know it. Or has anyone explained yet why the Gates of Justice opened up to let Luffy and the others through? Especially since they were supposed to stay sealed shut?"

Scowling, Sengoku gave a brief shake of his head. In light of this new intelligence, it was all too likely that Navy HQ's control center had been compromised. Fortunately, he could hear Aokiji already detailing two squads of senior HQ's elite marines to secure the room. _Good man. He'll make a fine Fleet Admiral._

Garp started to stalk off. "Tell them to leave the Gates open until I say otherwise. I'll handle this myself."

Ace's head was bowed down in disbelief as he realized the true depths of Teach's treachery. Even worse was the knowledge that despite his efforts, Luffy had still met and fought someone as vile as 'Blackbeard.' All because his little brother had wanted to save someone as worthless as himself…

Mind reeling as he pieced together how long the man must have been scheming for this, and the sheer audacity of his ambitions. Thus he missed the contempt that flickered across Sengoku's face as he stared at Garp's back. A look he had never shot at his friend in all their years together, even at Garp's most insufferable.

 _You just don't want to be here to see your grandsons die. Or be forced to choose between them and Justice. You're running away from it, while telling yourself you're doing something worthwhile. Thinking you won't be forced to make a choice, when you already are. Garp…for once, I'm truly disappointed in you._

 **-0-0-0-**

Squard had climbed aboard the Moby Dick, getting ready to stab Whitebeard for his betrayal, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye: the kitchen. _Thatch…_ Squard thought with grief. The man had been a true friend.

Backstabbed by someone he had believed to be _Nakama_.

 _Just like Whitebeard's planning to do to us!_ seethed Squard. Then he hesitated. _But if Akainu was lying, then I'd be the same if I stabbed Pops—_ Whitebeard _. I'd be just like_ Teach _!_

Then Whitebeard shattered the ice walls that had been penning in the allied pirates so they could be slaughtered –like Akainu had been telling Squard.

"The Navy's sent Garp to handle Teach, yet that's no guarantee. He's just an old man, and legends ain't nothing but words!"

 _How true_ , Squard agreed, having realized the truth of Whitebeard.

"Seize several of those marine battleships docked there, and use them to start pulling our wounded out. If we aren't careful, we'll have a nasty hassle coming at our rear, and that includes Garp if he does deal with Teach. Remember, we're all fighting to save Ace and go home together, so don't be too reckless!"

The roars of agreement over the Den-Den Mushi as Whitebeard glanced over his shoulder to see Squard. "Ah Squard, there you are. Good to see you're alright. Get over there, I need you leading those brats so we can get everyone out of this mess. Just remember, if you see Teach, don't engage without support; he won't come here without a trump card."

Swallowing, Squard nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Then hand tightening on his katana's hilt, he spun around and charged into the fray to follow his Pop's orders.

 **-0-0-0-**

It had been a hard fought and vicious battle, yet the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies, along with the reinforcements Straw Hat Luffy had brought with him, were fighting within Marineford's Plaza. The Execution Scaffold was just in sight, and they were going to save Ace no matter what!

Safely behind his Family as they fought, Marco gave one final assessment with his haki and eyes, with his gut weighing in as well, _No better time, all the admirals, vice-admirals, and Warlords are distracted, this is it!_ One of the most significant advantages the Whitebeard Pirates had in such tight confines was that none of their powerhouses possessed large-scale attacks, except for their Father, while the Admirals and Warlords had to constrain their full potential for fear of wiping out most of their own marines. _Not that Hancock seems really concerned about that…_

Running forward to add to his momentum, he silently called out, _Hang on Ace, I'm coming for ya-yoi!_ And then he went Phoenix, his beautiful form rocketing overhead with only a few pitiful and impotent musket shots coming his way.

 _Can't get cocky, there's still Sengoku after all._

Sure enough, the Fleet Admiral had already taken upon his Golden Buddha form, the Scaffold creaking under his immense weight. Sengoku made a palm strike to send a shockwave at Marco, who barrelled right through it to get close.

Switching from his bird feet to human ones, Marco delivered a massive kick to Senogku's forehead to knock him away from Ace. It was a longshot, and indeed the marine had braced himself against it, and retaliated with a head-butt that Marco barely swerved around.

Then a second sun lit up the battlefield.

Swiveling around, the Whitebeard First Division Commander and Navy Fleet Admiral stared in shock at the sight of 'Fire Fist' Ace holding up a massive fireball.

"Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor!" roared the Second Division Commander as he hurled it at the mightiest of the Navy present.

Everyone stopped to gape in shock at the sight, including Straw Hat who was still only halfway to the Platform. _HOW!?_ they all wondering with incomprehension.

Undaunted, Sengoku launched another shockwave, cancelling out both moves, yet it was all the opening Marco needed. As fast as he could he swooped down to kick at the Buddha's knees, knocking him off balance and off the Scaffold to send a shockwave at his impact on the ground.

With that breather, Marco appeared beside Ace, who surprisingly had one of the executioners standing beside him. The man was scrawny and unshaven, with one of the lenses of his glasses cracked. At his feet was the bleeding form of the other executioner, and dangling from his hand was a key that looked as if it were made of white wax. A Devil Fruit Power that could easily slip into a keyhole to make the a perfect key for the lock.

"He set me free," was all Ace had time to say before both men were snagged in the talons of Marco's phoenix form and taking flight towards Whitebeard and safety. "Don't forget to pick up my idiot brother!"

 **-0-0-0-**

"Here we are boys! Marineford! Ze ha ha ha ha!" laughed 'Blackbeard' Marshall D. Teach as they sailed through the Gate of Justice on their stolen Navy warship, Marineford in sight. With his powerful new crew, victory was assured!

"Took you stupid pirates long enough. I've already gone through three bags of crackers," someone grumbled.

Freezing with his fists up high in triumph, Blackbeard slowly twisted his head like a rusty turret to see the darkened face of Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp the Fist. The Hero.

For all that light-heartened comment, it was clear the living legend was beyond furious as he cracked his legendary knuckles. "I've got some issues to work out, so why don't be a good boy and help an old man out?"

Blackbeard managed to gulp out, "Mommy…"

 **-0-0-0-**

"Ace," rumbled Whitebeard, "go with your brother straight to the ships. We're getting out of here."

"No!" snapped Ace. "I can help fight with the rear guard to make sure everyone else gets away safe! It's the least I can do."

Unwilling to argue, Whitebeard took malicious glee in turning to face Straw Hat with a smile. "Brat." Instantly the rookie's expression hardened into defiance, broadcasting his refusal to cow to the whims of even an Emperor. Mindless of this, Whitebeard still gave the order. "Wrap up your brother in a hug and don't let go."

Luffy's frown deepened at the command, until he fully processed it and beamed as he realized how it was the best way to keep his reckless brother safe.

"Wha—" Ace began just before rubbery arms wrapped around him like ropes. "Luffy! Stop it! Lemme go!"

"No!" Luffy chirped with glee as his stupid big brother struggled, even his legs tied up.

Proactively, Jinbe hefted both siblings up on his shoulder and took off at a run.

"JINBE! PUT ME DOWN!"

"Shi shi shi shi! Go faster Jinbe! Shi shi shi shi!"

"Careful Jinbe!" Ivankov called out, chasing after them. "Or else you'll aggravate Straw-Boy's injuries!"

"Where are you taking my fiancé, kidnappers!?" shrieked Boa Hancock as she leapt into attack.

"Ah ha!" Ivankov cried out, blocking the kick. "What're you doing now, Pirate Empress?"

"I," the Warlord began, before hesitating. "Are you a man or woman?"

"I am both!" cried out an affronted Ivankov. Clearly he/she had to educate Hancock on the way to truly understanding oneself. Alas, he/she was pressed for time however, even for Straw-Boy's…Wait, what?

"D, did, did you say 'fiancé?'" Ivankov asked with a calmness that was clearly forced.

"Of course!" huffed Hancock. "Are your oversized ears just for decoration? Luffy is my husband!"

Peering intently, Ivankov saw no sign of deception in her eyes. _Huh, well whad'ya know. I can't_ wait _to tell Dragon about this!_ Then the Okama King was struck by a thought that held… _possibilities_. Yesssss. _If Luffy has already married, then no doubt he already knows about the birds and bees, but I'm sure Dragon would_ love _to hear how I gave his son further advice._

"Oh, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding," Ivankov quickly said. "It's been a long day, and Straw-Boy's been so worried about his brother it's no wonder he didn't get a chance to tell me. Although it does explain the help you gave against Smoker. My thanks."

The beautiful woman gave a cold nod of acknowledgement.

"However," and now Ivankov's expression turned predatory, "I wouldn't worry about Straw-Boy being all tied up. In fact, tell me, have you two tried BDSM yet?"

A dozen paces back as he observed this sideshow with an interest usually reserved for watching two ships inevitably collide, Marco turned to his Father. "I think we should let this little soap opera play itself out. Just to see what happens."

"Of course," Whitebeard grinned and winked. "Just to see what happens."

 **-0-0-0-**

A few minutes later

So we aren't sinking the island?" Marco clarified as Whitebeard held the rear line as his Sons retreated. The Emperor was still in good health, especially since that brat Akainu had been distracted by the Fleet Admiral falling, and for combatants at their level, the briefest moment of opportunity was all that was required for Whitebeard to send the man flying.

"We can do that later. Right now we've got to get to Teach before Garp does. We've got what we came for, so no need to stick around."

"Fair enough, especially since we've got Ace all safe."

A scream of affronted rage from said Brother could be heard from the back. "Yep, safe and sound," repeated Marco.

 **-0-0-0-**

"After them!" cried Akainu, and the Navy took off in pursuit.

"No!"

Everyone stopped at Sengoku's bitter order. "With Fire Fist, Whitebeard will not hold back with his Tremor-Tremor Fruit. We must evacuate the island, and secure Impel Down. It's very likely that Blackbeard released all of Level 6, taking the best with him, while letting the others to run wild to cause havoc and weaken us. Our losses are not as bad as they could have been, and we have to take advantage of that. Whitebeard on the other hand is largely unhurt. For now, we let them escape."

"Are you insane!?" rasped Akainu, before taking a step back.

Pinning his subordinate with a steely gaze, Sengoku icily informed him, "No, I'm the Fleet Admiral. I will take full responsibility for this, but the very duty that comes with this title forbids me for letting you end your lives needlessly! Now either obey your lawful orders, or remove your uniform!"

 **-0-0-0-**

Trafalgar Law grumbled as he headed back inside his submarine. He had been so excited to see how his rival Straw Hat, and Whitebeard, handled Marineford. Alas, he had arrived just as it finished, so there was nothing more of interest to see.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Stop grumbling and strap these back on," Marco deadpanned as he held up pieces of medical apparatuses. "Take your medicine, and let us hook you back up to the O2. Just because Garp sank Teach before we got here doesn't change the fact that he's dead."

"I must say," Ivankov said to Jinbe were they were both standing aside. "That went better than I thought it would. Thank goodness Straw-Boy mentioned that to Whitebeard while the rest of us were so focused on the threat of the marines and Warlords!"

"Indeed," Jinbe grunted. "Luffy-kun has surprising depth to him."

"Eh," Luffy admitted, "I thought Magellan killed Blackbeard. I just said that to the old man because he looked so grumpy and might want some good news."

The pirates all stared at him in disbelief and punctured respect.

"Luffy," Ace dryly said. "That's all very good, but COULD YOU STOP HUGGING ME ALREADY!?" He was still wrapped up in Luffy's elongated arms like ropes. "WE'RE FAR AWAY AT SEA NOW!"

"Nope. Not until Ace stops acting so reckless."

"RECKLESS!? Was I the one that broke into _hell_ , run amok and freeing prisoners right and left, recruited Revolutionaries and _Crocodile,_ stole a marine ship just to sail right into where it was even worse, and arrived at the war by falling out of the sky and picked a fight with every freaking person there…" Ace finally stopped as he started to go red for lack of air. Stopping to suck in a big breath, he continued. "And then faced down the three admirals while full of holes and injuries!?" Losing track for a second, Ace went on, "And _I'm_ the RECKLESS ONE?" he all but screamed.

Luffy still warped around him somehow had a finger in his nostrils, looking unimpressed and in matter of fact tone said.

"It Ace's fault for being caught. Now hush, I want to hear more about what Ivankov is saying."  
"Quite right, and I dare say it'll be educational," Ivankov grinned, before shoving a ball gag —… _where_ did he even get that from? He was just in a _warzone_!— into Ace's mouth. "In fact, I daresay half your brother's issues can be laid at excessive stress."

"Hmm," Vista pondered. "We never did get around to taking him to that brothel."

"Precisely," Ivankov declared, with the air of a professor who is proud of a student solving a difficult problem.

Ace was squirming and making noises for all he was worth now.

"What're you saying?" Luffy asked.

"Just that your brother will feel better with a bit of romance in your life. Just like with you and Hancock," Ivankov said reassuringly.

"Huh?" Luffy said, tilting his head in confusion. In the background, the woman in question was collecting pieces of rope and examining whips. Any other day the men around her would have been letting their imaginations run loose, except right now they had a frightful feeling she was looking for volunteers to 'experiment' on, with no concern for their health…

"I'm just saying," Ivankov said a little delicately (not out of sensitivity, but because he was going for the slow build-up of teaching Luffy new things), "that I'm sure you've noticed how much better you've felt since…meeting each other."

Luffy stopped to ponder that, remembering how Hancock had become so much nicer since meeting Luffy. On an island entirely populated by woman, and came to the obvious conclusion. "Sooo, are you saying that Ace would feel better if he's turned into a girl?"

…What, what?

"HRRRRRN!" Ace shrieked in terror from behind his gag while everyone stared at Luffy in disbelief at his logical deduction.

"You know," Ivankov idly said, claws extending out of his fingertips. "It never hurts to try…"

Cocking his head, Marco looked at his Father. "At what point should we intervene?"

"Gu ra ra ra ra ra!" Whitebeard roared with good humour. "Let him sweat a bit, and stop just before Ivankov touches him. And then offer Ivankov to help train Ace and his brother while he's with us. For further incentive for the brats."

He was such a supportive father!

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Yes, parts of this were taken directly from my "Rise from the Ashes."**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review and I will get back to you!**


	12. Chapter 12

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

Captain Gol D. Roger of the Roger Pirates blinked and looked around and assessed the situation with the experience of a veteran survivor of the New World.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" he shrieked. "RAFTEL WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF US! WE WERE ALMOST THROUGH THE MIST!"

Instead, suddenly they were face to face with clear skies, and pathetically calm water.

Ship's Apprentice Buggy was on his knees giving prayers of thanks that they were somehow out of the madness of that insane sea, while Shanks was elsewhere.

"Oh thank thank thank thank you for heeding my prayers! We're alive! We're ALIVE!"

Rayleigh, good old Rayleigh, was already barking orders to the others, so Roger took matters into his own hands and in a single bound leapt right to the top of the crow's nest of the _Oro Jackson_ , spinning around to see the horizon.

Yep, bland water as far as the eye could see.

Put off by the sheer boredom of it, he let himself fall back down to the deck. "Captain."

"Partner," Roger growled in frustration as his right-hand came up. Unlike his Captain, Rayleigh remained cool and collected, obviously collecting information to try and come up with a theory. "I've used my Haki and I can't _hear_ ," emphasizing that strange ability of his, "anything of note either. Is this some sort of final test? We were _so_ close to reaching Raftel."

"Who knows?" Rayleigh countered, taking a sip from his flask before handing it over to his Captain.

Before Roger could have a drink however, Shanks rushed back on deck. "Captain! Vice-Captain! You've got to see what the Den-Den Mushi are broadcasting."

"Smart lad," Rayleigh noted. "Checking the channels to see what's happening nearby."

However, when they went below deck, they saw it was not the normal Den-Den, but the larger one that could actually project visual broadcasts. _Why did I want that again?_ Rayleigh wondered. _Something to do with Oden wanting to see broadcasts of more of the world, maybe…?_

Buggy, who was an excitable character that always made Roger laugh –in a good way— and who's hidden courage could surprise people, was already watching the video display. "They're just panning around showing off the marines, and there's a lot of them," the ship's apprentice gulped. "I mean a lot. But something's weird about the admirals, they're the wrong colours."

Catching a glance at the three men sitting in front of the execution scaffold as the image panned upwards, Roger had to agree. Yellow, red, and blue, were not the distinguishing outfits of the admirals he knew.

"What's Kong up to?" Roger wondered aloud, referring to the Fleet Admiral. "And where's Sengoku?"

The others were also curious at the absence of the wily Admiral, failing to recognize the newcomers.

"Wait!" Shanks snapped his fingers. "The one with the dopey expression kinda looks like Vice-Admiral Borsalino!"

As one the Roger Pirates blinked, and realized that if you changed the man's outfit from grey to yellow, got rid of the hat and cigarettes, added on extra facial lines, stupid fuzz, and sunglasses, than it really did look like the eater of the Glint-Glint Fruit.

"And that one's Kuzan!" shrieked Buggy.

"Isn't he the one that almost froze your balls?" teased Shanks

"He didn't! Shut up!"

"Oh great, Sakazuki's there too. What a waste."

"Did Kong snap while we were away, and decide to change the whole line-up of admirals," mused another. "Bring in some new blood and all?"

"Pffh," scoffed someone else. "Those guys aren't stronger than Sengoku and Garp. Don't be nuts."

"And we haven't been gone _that_ long for something like this. Only a few months away from the news."

Vice-Captain Rayleigh merely stroked his beard in thought.

Then the view held steady to display a young man chained down between two waiting executioners. He was young, maybe not even twenty if Roger was to guess, with scruffy black hair, red bead necklace, and a naked, muscular torso covered in dried blood.

"I don't recognize him from the wanted posters," muttered Crocus, the ship's doctor. It was thanks to him that Roger was in particularly good shape today. "So what'd he do to warrant such a show?"

Rayleigh was quiet, keen mind doubtless ticking away.

Then the people on the platform were joined by someone that Roger dimly recognized.

"It's Sengoku," breathed Rayleigh. "But he's gotten old. And a new outfit."

"Fleet admiral?"

"Did Kong suddenly die, or retire?"

"Nah, knowing that old gorilla, he's too stubborn to die or leave the marines."

"More importantly, is he growing his hair backwards? Front? It's so silly!"

"He finally added to the famous mustache a…braided…goatee."

 _Now_ Roger recognized him, as the Buddha's beard had grown longer, age-lines marked his mouth and face, and he wore the uniform befitting the Fleet Admiral.

Oden was desperately trying to make sense of this. "Maybe some sort of illusion? Joint hallucination? No, we'd have sensed that by now? Parallel worlds?"

"Or maybe we all hit our heads during the last of that insanity," Buggy deadpanned with utter serious. "That's the only logical explanation left to us."

"This is the New World," a more senior crewmember reminded him. "Logic comes here to crawl up in a corner sobbing, waiting for someone to put it out of its misery."

"Maybe twenty years?" Rayleigh mused, with his Captain instantly catching on.

"Time travel," groaned Roger as he slumped over, before perking back up with a bark of laughter. "Raftel's certainly not making it easy for us to reach her! But we'll see it through!"

The rest of the crew were panicking or making various exclamations, but Roger just rolled with it. Still, a Captain should ease them. "Even better," he went on, his eyes glittering with glee, "we got to see how badly the stress would eat at Sengoku. Now all we can do is try and find a way to make it worst." The chortles at that indicated that Roger had done his duty, and just in time as it appeared the show was about to start.

" _I have some to say to you all_ ," Sengoku said into a transponder snail. " _The execution of this man Portgas D. Ace…is a matter of enormous import!_ " The old man paused again at this, letting the tension build while Roger glanced at his crew. They all shrugged or made other signs of dismissal. The name 'Portgas' meant as little to them as it did to their Captain. Not surprising given the issue of time travel, except it still would have been nice. _And he's a D at that_ , Roger silently thought, appreciating how the young man was obviously angry, yet fearless as D should be. _Poor soul, I bet I'd have liked to meet you_ , he mourned.

" _Ace…What is your father's name?_ "

 _That_ got the young man's attention, as _something_ flashed through his eyes, but he still maintained his composure better than many others Roger had seen in similar straits. He closed his eyes and bowed his head to proudly declare, " _My father is…Whitebeard!_ "

Roger gave a soft whistle at that, with Rayleigh nodding alongside him. Unless Whitebeard had gone senile, or was dead come to think of it, he would be coming to unleash upon Marineford a wrath that defined comprehension.

Roger and Whitebeard were rivals, but it was nothing _personal_. It was fun even (according to Roger, not his crewmates) at times, if only because at no point had any of the old sourpusses' adoptive sons had been killed. Oh sure, they had been roughed up, thrown around, smacked through walls, hacked up, etcetera, but never leaking so much blood that that a good medic could not have them back on their feet in due time, or anything else serious. If it had gone any further, than the older man would have hunted the Roger Pirates down for a winner-takes-all-including-your-lives duel.

Frankly, Roger almost felt sorry for the marines, given the nightmare that was about to fall upon them. Knowing the kid was one of Whitebeard's Sons also only made him want to meet – _Ace was it?_ — more. _Hah! Maybe even ask for him to join, if only to rile him and his 'Pop' up!_

" _Not true!_ " bellowed Sengoku.

"It is true!" Ace snapped back. "Whitebeard's my Father! There's nobody else!"

 _Looks like the kid had no love for his biological parent_ , Roger ruefully thought. _Still, how could Sengoku be so stupid?_ _Whitebeard'll do what any_ proper _father will do, and_ level _Marineford to rescue his Son. Heck, even_ I _don't want to know what he'd do to_ avenge _one of his children_.

 _And if_ I _can figure this out, then Sengoku's probably thinking it's a bright idea to use a son as bait to kill him. Pfssh. If he wanted to pick fight with Newgate, he only has to ask…_

 _Huh, that means old Newgate's still alive and kicking after twenty years, and the marines are still afraid of him! Hah! Good on him!_

"We were looking everywhere…" Sengoku dramatically continued. "When we got word from Cipher Pol about the possibility that one of his children—"

 _Wait, whose children?_ Roger wondered.

"—might be on a certain island. We examined newborns, unborn infants their mothers and found nothing. But that was only natural. Your mother used a trick to hide you…that cost her her life! But we were fooled. The whole world was fooled!"

Roger was impressed. _Sounds like a woman I'd have liked to have known._

"Your mother lived on the island of Baterilla in the South Blue. Her name was Portgas D. Rouge. She did something we never imagined was possible. She hid her child in her womb for twenty months, in order to save it! She bought your life…at the cost of her own."

Now it was Crocus giving a soft whistle at that medical miracle, while Rayleigh held up his flask in a silent toast to this mysterious woman. Truly she had been someone to admire. Roger though was struck by the look on Ace's face, with a throbbing forehead vein and a look in his eyes that concerned him. _The poor lad._

Mercilessly, Sengoku continued. "Your father was executed one year and three months before you were born. The blood of the most terrible fiend the world has ever known…runs through your veins. Don't pretend not to know!

"YOUR FATHER WAS GOLD ROGER, THE PIRATE KING!"

The look on the boy's face confirmed it was the truth, except it still took a precious few seconds for it to sink in. To connect 'Gol D. Roger' with 'Gold Roger'…

.

.

.

A smack to the back of his head shook Roger, and he realized that Rayleigh was shouting his name and slapping him again.

With a shake of his head, Roger regained his senses to see the Den-Den Mushi prostrate on the counter, foaming at the mouth. His nakama were staring at him with wide eyes, sweat beading their pale faces, and belatedly their Captain realized that he was the cause.

Protective instincts came to the fore as he drew in his power that had slipped free, so as to not hurt those more precious to him than his own life. Then Roger turned and stormed out.

The crew stood aside to let him pass, with only Rayleigh daring to come up beside the man. "If this is from Marineford, we've got that Eternal Pose we took from the Marines as a lark," he informed his partner, holding up the navigation device. "Helmsman, get us there," throwing it to the appropriate crewmember.

Reaching the rear of the ship, Roger drew his sword and then paused, turning his stupefied face towards Rayleigh, and whispered, "Are they really going to kill my son?"

Rayleigh sighed. "You heard what he said. Both of them, Sengoku and this Ace kid."

Numbly, Roger nodded. "I have a son. A boy. Somewhere on these seas, the South Blue even, I found someone that I chose to give my heart to her, this Portgas D" —he almost stumbled upon that name, and the implications it held to those in the know— "Rouge. And we had a child," he whispered the last. _Who is she, this woman from the Blues? Who is she, with such strength of will that she held…?_ His wits returned, and he gritted in teeth as his heart beat a drum of war. "A child that she performed a miracle to save, at the cost of her very life. A _child_ ," he snarled, "that they are planning to kill." Venting his wrath, Roger sheathed his blade and swept one arm around behind the _Oro Jackson_.

The sheer force and might of the man who twenty years ago had been known as the Strongest Man in the World, now returned in the full richness of his prime, roared free as his steed leapt forward. The ship's Adam's Wood hull surviving the stress even as the water beneath them was forced down by the sheer impact.

Buggy screamed at the wind shear buffeting them all while Kozuki Oden was giving a frantic lecture about something called Newton's Third Law (he was educated like that), while again and again Roger waved his arms, trying to vent his fury even as he sped them on to Marineford.

Truthfully, with all of the conflicting emotions turning inside of him, Roger did not _know_ how he felt. Although he _did_ had strong suspicion he would feel much better when he went to Navy HQ and **_punched the face of every loser marine sailor he could find_**.

Again and again he accelerated his ship to greater and greater speeds.

Then maybe spend some time with Ace. Some fath—no, _manly_ -bonding. Yes, his s-s-ss-suh-suuh-sonn-son, had made his feelings quite clear on who he considered his father. Roger was still optimistic however, knowing they could get to know each other **_while burning down the island of Marineford and salting the ashes._**

Faster. _Faster_. Roger struggled to calm his thoughts. He had to think about this, and was weirdly reluctant to ask Rayleigh for help.

 _. . . Maybe break out the booze to share a drink with him? Yeah, that's an idea! We've got some, huh . . . Oh, right, all we've got aboard is stuff we stol—_ borrowed _from Whitebeard's personal stock in preparation to celebrate at Raftel. He probably remembers that even . . . What else then?_

Behind him, his crewmates adapted to the wind pressure and readied the ship, its canons, and their own weapons. They did not know exactly what their Captain was planning, yet they had a pretty good grasp of the gist of it.

The Roger Pirates were going to show the world what happened when peopled messed with _their_ Captain!

 **-0-0-0-**

Whitebeard calmly considered the tableau before him as his Sons fought upon the harbor of ice, courtesy of that punk Aokiji. _Now then, next Sengoku will probably—_

" _Pops!_ " the sheer terror from the Den-Den Mushi made the World Strongest Man pause, holding it up, recognizing the voice as A.O, which was a surprise given how Whitebeard had never heard him so afraid before.

"What is it?" he growled in concern.

" _It's, it's, it's gotta be some sort of trick!_ "

Curious, Whitebeard reached out with his Observation's Haki, probing the region near A.O and found— ** _What…!?_**

Whirling around, even turning his back on the marines, Whitebeard beheld the Impossible sight of the _Oro Jackson_ threading its way through his fleet, a very familiar figure at the front.

Captain Gol D. Roger was not smiling.

Even at a distance it was clear the Pirate King was grinding his teeth in barely suppressed fury.

Unfortunately, for the seething man, the angle of his approach and the way Marineford's bay was set up meant the _Oro Jackson_ could not reach the harbor directly. Moreover, there was a concrete and steel reinforced wall in its path, dozens of meters thic—

A blur of Roger's arms, and there was suddenly a wide gap in the wall for his ship to sail directly into the bay, braking with perfect control before hitting the ice.

 _Well that's interesting_ , Whitebeard automatically assessed. _Such a casual display of power is the norm for Big Mom or Kaidou, but never for Roger or Shanks. Those two keep the monsters within them deep down, making people just see their 'party' side. Only letting it out when_ they _want it to. I've never seen him so ready for a fight._

Whitebeard gave no thought to his own displays of power, because he was _Whitebeard_ , and self-reflection like that was therefore unnecessary.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Mommy . . ." was all that one manly commodore could whimper, and no one thought any less of him.

"H-how is this possible!?" another exclaimed. "We killed him! The marines killed him and Justice prevailed! Did he never die!?"

Smoker quietly puffed out some more smoke, although Tashigi knew by his throbbing forehead veins he was thinking furiously. _Did the Navy only pretend he was dead? Or assume he was and take credit for it? No. That was definitely Roger I saw on the execution platform all those years ago; it couldn't have been anyone else._

"No," one cried out in a voice that carried over the rest. "He _did_ die, but now the Pirate King's returned from the Land of the Dead to show his displeasure to us all!" Voice shrieking now, "To drown us in blood and fury for daring to touch his son!"

"Why'd we think this was a good idea again!? Whitebeard was bad enough!"

"Be silent fools."

Those three words snuffed out all others, as Akainu stepped forward, gaze sweeping across the assembled marines. There were too many who had ushered such cowardice, goading on their comrades with treasonous thoughts, to deal with now. It would wait until after Justice was victorious. Justice was absolute.

"This is for the best," Admiral Sakazuki continued. "The first death of the Pirate King was not enough, and so we shall do it again. Not even Whitebeard's death could accomplish so much. When we present _both_ their heads to the world, everyone will truly know the death of the Pirate Era!"

 **-0-0-0-**

Visibly taking a deep breath, Roger hopped down onto the ice as his ship stalled, briskly walking towards the _Moby Dick_. A quarter of the way there, he drew his sword and stuck it point first into the ice and carried on, a clear gesture of peaceful intent.

At half the distance from Whitebeard, he stopped, and called out in a fierce voice that carried across the island of Marineford.

"Whitebeard! Newgate! You've gotten old!"

The man being addressed was unsurprised, yet Roger was clearly disturbed, smacking his forehead, apparently having planned a more polite greeting.

"Uh—I mean, uhm, right. Nah you wouldn't believe me anyways . . . You don't seem too surprised to see me by the way, all things considered."

"If it's any consolation," Whitebeard grinned, "you squeezed into being number ten on my list of the strangest things I've seen on these seas. If you'd had the courtesy to bring some booze with you for once, I'd have happily made it number nine."

That was a bald-faced lie to maintain his image, as in truth he was struggling to retain his composure. Roger's appearance was easily the third weirdest thing to happen to Whitebeard. For the top two, the only other soul who knew what they were was Marco, and they had sworn each other to secrecy, in the futile hope they would one day forget about them.

Taking another big breath, Roger braced himself. "Alright, I'll get to the point. I get it, this," sweeping his arm to take in the battlefield, "is a family affair. _Your_ family. Someone was stupid enough to mess with your Sons –and not be me– and now you're supremely hacked off with them all. No problem. The kid's your Son, no custody dispute."

 _As if you have any right to him_ , Whitebeard inwardly seethed, letting a glower settle over his face.

"But he was clearly someone very special to a woman I cared for very much. So please, let me do this for her. Please," he repeated again.

Whitebeard's temper eased, and he opened his mouth—

—and a ship fell from the sky.

 **-0-0-0-**

Despite himself, Roger was curious.

A Navy ship fell from the sky, and disgorged a horde of people in what was clearly prison uniforms. Plus people dressed in a way that made Roger want to go get drunk.

It was not that he had any problem with people of different genders than the bodies they were born with, he was happy to see such free souls. It was just that it brought back some bad memories that alcohol had thus far failed to successfully repress. The most it had achieved thus far was making him forget _why_ he had wanted to go to that frightful pink island in the first place, not _what_ had happened there.

"—Shanks—"

Roger shook his head, bringing himself back to the present, at the sound of that squirt talking to Newgate. It had been amusing to see him 'save' the 'helpless' Whitebeard from that guy with the hook, yet now that he was looking more closely . . .

 _Is that my hat!? I mean, Shank's hat now. But now this kid has it? . . . Interesting!_

"Shut up! That's not for you to decide!" the kid yelled at Whitebeard of all people. "I know perfectly well! You wanna be the Pirate King, don't you?!" All of the assembled marines and pirates (who were in their proper timeline) were frozen stiff as they watched this face-off, except to swivel their eyeballs at Gol D. Roger.

"I'm the one who'll be the Pirate King!"

 _Huh, right, that title again_ , Roger remembered _. Maybe he can tell me about it._

In a blur he was standing beside the kid, breaking the starring contest between him and Newgate. "Hey boy, what does that mean?"

The kid turned to look at him, taking in his face and hat, and declared, "That's a cool mustache!"

Blinking, Roger grinned in appreciation. "Glad you like it! Takes a lot of work, fine as Whitebeard's wouldn't you say! No, better!"

The kid did not say anything in agreement –but neither did he _dis_ agree!—, instead saying, "I like how you've got it on your hat too!" pointing at the Roger Pirate's Jolly Roger on his hat.

"Of course! A good mustache is a source of pride! Just ask Whitebeard! He did the same!"

While Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, he stayed silent.

"Yeah, sadly a mustache really isn't for me," the kid admitted without regret, rubbing his bare chin. "I can't grow one."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Eh, give it a little more time, and maybe you'll be able to do it."

"Okay, but now I've—"

"Wait," Roger firmly asked, holding up one palm. "I have to ask you something."

"Well say it already!"

Dimly Roger heard some people say the cheeky brat was dead. The pirate merely laughed, and then told the boy: "What is this Pirate King thing you're talking about?"

.

.

.

"Are you stupid or something?"

If Roger had felt like dropping a pin, it could probably have been heard from across the island as the audience to this little drama held their breaths. For his part, Roger just sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "It's a little complicated. Could you just tell me?"

"The King of the Pirates is the man who's the most free," the kid loudly declared.

A shiver of excitement rippled down Roger's spine. "The most free?" he whispered.  
"Yeah, the most free! Some people have these stupid ideas it's about the wealth or conquering the seas, but who cares about that?"

"Ha ha! A man after my own heart!" Roger declared, clapping both hands on the kid— _man's_ shoulders. "What's your name!?"

"Monkey D. Luffy, and I—"

"Monkey!? Any relation to Monkey D. Garp!?"

"He's my grandpa and I—"

"Grandpa!? That man actually reproduced!? How!? When!? Why!? Who!? How!?" Roger repeated, utterly shocked. "How'd he even know how to make a kid!? And you're a pirate!? Are you a Pirate Captain!?"

"SHUT UP!"

Again the very concept of noise was dead, its throat slit from behind, and Roger felt another faint shiver go through him at the glare the wiry young man threw him. Not out of fear, but anticipation. Approval. A hint of kinship. "Yes I'm a Captain," the kid continued, "and your stupid questions are keeping me from saving my big brother Ace!"

Captain Luffy spun around and prepared to leap off the _Moby Dick_ , before Roger's pleading voice made him pause. "Wait, Ace is your brother!?" _I had another kid!? Who's somehow also related to Garp!?_

He had to get to the bottom of this!

"Yes!" Luffy yelled over his shoulder before jumping into the fray.

Spinning his head around, Roger addressed Whitebeard while pointing at the lone figure charging the horde of marines. "Never mind, I'm with him now. See yah!"

 **-0-0-0-**

"Gramps," Ace whispered.

"Yes, Ace," the equally pale Garp replied.

"What's going on?"

". . . I'll tell you once I figure it out."

 **-0-0-0-**

Roger looked on with approval as his son(!?) beat down the marines in front of him with his fists and feet. Clearly he had consumed a Devil Fruit, even if it was only a weaker Paramecia. Not that eating a Devil Fruit was a bad thing. It was just that—

"He's not your son."

Roger spun around to see his partner had caught up. "What do you mean!?"

"He's too young," Rayleigh elaborated. "They must be step-brothers."

"Oh," Roger sighed with disappointment.

Then Sengoku started yelling about how Luffy was the son of someone named Dragon, and then the young captain took out a giant with a single massive punch. "Not bad for a rookie," Rayleigh admitted.

"What I still want to know is how Garp managed to have a kid," Roger mused, "and why he named him 'Dragon' of all things. I mean it's cool and all, but it seems too cool for Garp to think of. Must've been the mother's idea, although that doesn't explain why'd someone get involved with _him_ of all people!"

Then Ace started yelling something about not wanting Luffy here, especially with that geezer (along with some unpleasant comments about Roger's heritage . . . which was Ace's heritage too, come to think of it), except then the little step(?)-brother yelled back for Ace to shut up and that he (Luffy) was going to save him.

Roger grinned at that, casually knocking away a dozen marines with a single swing of the sword he had retrieved before following the kid.

The rest of his crew were sweeping in from the sides, and according to his Haki, Shanks and Buggy were manning the ship. _Rayleigh's orders no doubt, to keep them safe and make sure we can get out of here fast if needed. Shame though, I'd have like have seen what Luffy'd have said to seeing a younger Shanks. Hah ha ha! They'd have probably start fighting over their hats!_

 _Hmm, I wonder what Luffy could tell us about the others. Has he met Buggy for instance?_

Glancing back, Luffy took note of Roger and his Vice-Captain. "Hey, are you old man Rayleigh's kid or something?"

Rayleigh, the younger, blinked before collecting himself. "You've met someone like me, except older?"

"Yeah, a few days ago."

"Hmm," Rayleigh thought as he rubbed his beard. "How'd you get along?"

"Great!" Luffy grinned. "He's a real cool guy and helped out with a tough bind with an Admiral!" Suddenly he looked downcast. "And then a Warlord showed up and sent my Crew away."

"Horrible," Rayleigh helpfully said. "So you're saying this older man who looks just like me who got along with you, and even fought to help you? Did he approve of you, would you say?"

"I think so," Luffy answered with a confused expression. "Does that matter?"

"Why yes it does!" Roger boomed, knocking away fifty marines by simply glaring at them. So rude to interrupt!

"Huh," Luffy blinked. "You're pretty strong Mustache-Man."

Sengoku and the marines had been screaming a bunch of stuff again, although Roger had to admit it was getting pretty incoherent over the noisy battlefield. Even knowing what they must be saying, he could barely make out them saying his name and future title. It was a minor miracle that they had heard the part about Monkey D. Dragon, who did indeed sound a lot more fun than Garp ever was.

Anyways, the point was that it appeared Luffy was still unclear as to who Roger was.

"That's not important," Roger quickly assured him. "What is important is you telling me how one becomes the Pirate King!"

The marines and pirates all stumbled, and the fighting ground to a halt.

"Oh, that," Luffy said as if it were obvious. "You have to find the One Piece. Roger's treasure, which everyone says is on the last island of the Grand Line, Raftel! Why?" he frowned. "Are you trying to become the King as well?"

"Well, it sounds like a fine thing to do," and Roger's grin was as fierce and joyful as it ever could be. He held out one hand, "I agree with you on who the King should be, and I would happily be your rival!"

Luffy's face went blank once more, but then grinned a smile that reached from one end of his face to the other, and shook Roger's hand, sealing their pact. "You're on, Captain Mustache!"

"Ha ha ha! Well said!"

 **-0-0-0-**

"This is a nightmare!" Ace moaned into his knees.

"I'm just saying, Sengoku," Garp argued, standing beside the Fleet Admiral, "that maybe we should cut our losses while we can. No matter what you say about the pride of the Navy, we _can't_ fight Roger in his prime. Not with Whitebeard here too!"

While he and Sengoku were each still able to beat an admiral, age had their strength to the point they could _only_ fight an admiral. There was no marine here that could take on Roger toe-to-toe.

Case in point, Vice-Admiral John Giant the Giant was standing over Roger, repeatedly swinging his sword down at the Pirate King as if the blade were a hammer, the pirate a nail, and the vice-admiral was a carpenter getting lip from his tools about his craftsmanship, and inability to please his wife.

For his part, Roger seemed to be entertaining himself by just standing there smirking. A miniscule little human blocking every massive overhand strike to drive home how impotent the giant was.

–Whoops, never mind, there went John Giant flying away with a trail of blood.

Sengoku was still grinding his teeth, yet he knew yelling at his old friend would be pointless. They needed something actually productive!

"Raise the Containment Wall!" he barked at Garp and into his Den-Den Mushi. "That should buy us some time!"

 **-0-0-0-**

Roger glared at the metal wall blocking his path, deciding that yes, he _did_ find it personally offensive.

They had been making such fine progress too, and the more he saw of Luffy, the more impressed he was.

Oh, sure, he had a few rough edges, and was at least a year away from being ready for the New World (he knew next to nothing about haki for instance), but frankly Roger was willing to overlook all of that given the hot chick he had as a fiancé. Apparently she was a 'Warlord' or something like that. So supportive too, having that key all ready for him! _Huh, I wonder what it will be like when I meet Rogue . . . ? Well, anyways, I wish him best of luck!_

Another Warlord, a guy with a massive black blade, had clearly been torn between challenging either Rayleigh or himself to a sword duel, until Rayleigh had pointedly indicated the yellow eyed man should fight Luffy first. Seems like his First-Mate wanted a better idea of what had made his older self so interested in this new rival, and seeing how he fared against an obviously superior adversary was as good a way as any.

The results had been harrowing, but the kid had kept himself alive long enough for one of Whitebeard's kids –who only looked vaguely familiar— to cheerfully lend a hand. The very act of someone so powerful coming to his aid proving the lad's potential

"Now Luffy," Roger lectured to the still alive, if slightly bloody, young Captain, gesturing at the massive wall that had raised before them. "This is why you always have a swordsman on your crew," while Rayleigh walked up to the massive barricade.

"But I've got a swordsman! Zoro's the first crewman I recruited!"

"Really!? Good for you! Same here for Rayleigh!" Roger praised, earning further stares from the pirates and 'revolutionaries' (or something like that), behind them.

"But aren't you a swordsman, Captain 'Stache?"

"Why're you shortening my name?" pouted Roger. "And for your information, Rayleigh is much better at the sword than I am."

With an exaggerated sigh, Rayleigh swung his sword in a manner intentionally meant to seem lazy, and then the obstruction fell down . . . onto the marines behind it.

"Let's save Ace!" roared Luffy.

"Goodness me," Ivankov muttered, sweat dripping down his brow. "I'm ever so glad I helped break out of that ghastly prison! I wouldn't have missed this for the world. Dragon, what will your son do next!?"

"Eh, this is a typical Tuesday for us," quipped 'Dark King' Rayleigh with a smirk.

Ivankov was too stupefied to even contest that.

 **-0-0-0-**

Sengoku was very nervous now.

Garp and the three Admirals were all fighting Roger and his first-mate, and even with two-to-one odds, and support of the rank and file, they were barely holding them back, and now Whitebeard was stomping onto the field of battle. Unless he could think of something, Sengoku himself, the Navy's last reserve, would have to fight their original target of this whole mess.

To add insult to injury, Straw Hat Luffy was spearheading the army of pirates and revolutionaries cutting their way through to the execution platform.

Oh well, it could not get any . . . worse . . . ?

"CUT THE VIDEO FEEDS! CUT THE VIDEO FEEDS!" Sengoku screamed.

They had been so distracted by Roger's return that they had forgotten to stop broadcasting it to the whole world!

A clank of metal on wood made him freeze.

Slowly, as if his neck were made of stone, the Fleet Admiral turned to see the figure of 'Fire Fist' Ace rubbing his sore wrists, while the floating head of Captain Buggy the Clown, grinned in a sick and terrified way. As if he knew he was about to die, but dared not roll over and show his belly with his one and only Captain here.

It had been Vice-Captain Rayleigh who had caught up to him while everyone else was watching that idiot Straw Hat yelling at Captain Roger. The wily man had pointed out that in all the insanity that was to break loose, no one would notice if a crafty little former apprentice slipped right past it all. It was stupid, suicidal, and everything else that Buggy had spent the last twenty years escaping from.

Yet none of that mattered.

Reflexes Buggy had thought long dead had sprung into motion the instant he had seen Captain Roger, instinctively knowing that the Roger Pirates were going to war . . . and that he would _always_ be one of them.

In one hovering hand was a lockpick.

"Hello—?" Buggy managed.

With scream of rage, Fire Fist leapt down in a blaze of fire, joining the fight against Roger.

"Okay men, time to beat it!" Roger declared, turning and hightailing it out of there.

"No!" roared Akainu, striking down several of the Whitebeard's Sons as he barreled forward. "You shall not escape Justice! You and your sins end—"

A hand grabbed onto the crown of his head and slammed it down into the ground.

"Out of my way!" snarled Portgas D. Ace as he leapt over the random stranger –he was not really 'seeing' anyone right now except for one particular individual— in his race for . . . vengeance? Fulfillment? Eh, he just wanted to beat him up. "Come back here you coward!"

"Follow Ace!" yelled Squard, honestly shocked and ashamed that he had briefly thought such negative thoughts of his friend. His Brother. Together they would have their revenge against Roger!

Whitebeard just laughed, deciding it would be therapeutic for both his children.

"And Luffy!" Roger yelled over his shoulder. "One way or another, I'll be the Pirate King before you!"

"No you won't!" Luffy screamed back, trying to catch up with his brother. Meanwhile Garp was occupied holding back the remaining the Admirals, as there was no need to get the involved, and they should probably start evacuating the island before Whitebeard stopped enjoying the show, and remembered to sink it with a few earthquakes.

"Just you wait and see!" Roger grinned and laughed again.

 **-0-0-0-**

Two years later

"Wait, hold on a second," Luffy demanded. "You're saying that was GOLD ROGER THE PIRATE KING I WAS FIGHTING WITH!?"

". . . .No one told you!?" squeaked Nami.

"No, but they kept muttering about some weird stuff after he disappeared into thin air like that," Luffy explained while picking his nose in disbelief. "He just vanished along with his ship. It was a cool mystery, except I just wanted to be with Ace. And eat meat."

"Unbelievable," Nami moaned while everyone except Robin shook their heads in resignation. Their resident historian was reconsidering how to get Luffy to give her more details about his encounter with the Pirate King. This _had_ to be written down for history's sake.

Luffy's fist struck his palm. "Oh, so that's why Ace was so upset! And kept ranting. I thought he was just jealous of that mustache!"

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **A little time travel idea I had in my head for a while that evolved into something different. My original idea was that Luffy came back as the Pirate King himself, while dragging Roger and his crew along too, but then I thought of the idea of Luffy and Roger becoming rivals for the throne and this was born! :-D**

 **-0-**

 **Please review, and I will get back to you!**


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

Defiantly, Whitebeard stood with his back to his precious children as he covered their escape from Marineford. Buying their future with his life, as a parent should.

Suddenly a circle of flame spread out around him, creating a breathing space between him and the marines. Knowing that only Ace could be responsible for this, he turned to see what the brat had to say.

Instead, he saw a D with the Will to prove it, bowing to an old man.

Showing his respect and thanks for risking everything to save but one member of the family. That the prideful, lonely lad was so surprised to learn he was indeed so loved was painful, yet at least now Ace knew. At least the last shackle holding him back had been lifted, and Ace was free to pursue the greatness he had always been capable of. Not by the blood of the Pirate King that flowed through his veins, but by his fiery, dauntless spirit.

"I have little use for soft words," Whitebeard said. "...But tell me one thing, Ace….Were you happy with me as your father?"

Raw with emotion he could barely express, Ace's fingers tried to dig through the cement while his eyes where closed tight. His teeth ground together before finally the only words he could manage tore through. And in them was a lifetime of meaning. "Of course!"

Despite all of the aches and cuts his ratty old heart had taken, the fearsome Emperor still felt it become lighter and warmer.

Yet when Ace starts to raise his body back up to stand tall, instead it quivers and collapses to the ground.

Instantly Whitebeard was kneeling by his Son's side, and up close even his dimming eyes could see the problem.

Teach had beaten Ace half to death, and by the state of his wounds, the marines and prison guards had been decided that leaving all but the worst of them untreated was the best way to keep him docile. Along with all but starving him, given how noticeable his ribs were. On top of that, the freshness of other wounds, made clear the sadists at Impel Down had also indulged in their own art of torture.

"Ace!" cried Straw Hat Luffy, only for the young man to collapse down beside his brother as well.

 _Of course_ , Whitebeard thought in resignation. _Whatever he did to himself to get this far has worn off_. He _had_ been so ragged he could not even stand, but then the next minute he was fighting like a lunatic again. And given his association with Emporio Ivankov, it was not hard to fill in the blanks.

And those were just the _visible_ injuries for the two brothers. Who knew what damage lay beneath the skin?

All the while, the three admirals would be dogging their heels, before a veritable horde of bloodthirsty marines. Buddha Sengoku would be coordinating everything as well, doubtless already devising contingencies to pursue them at sea where one lucky strike could send a Devil Fruit user sinking to the bottom of the merciless waters.

Summoning his power, Whitebeard's fists got to the work. Smashing the ground, massive fissures erupted, splintering Marineford apart. Waves of concussive force threw their pursuers back. Unfortunately, as impressive as it was, it was only a stopgap measure against such dangerous foes.

Throwing the brothers to Jinbe to carry, Whitebeard ran with his children to reach the ships with them, gasping for breath with each movement. Suddenly life flowed through his veins again as he sensed an oncoming threat. Muscles moving with renewed vigor, his massive hand slamming the head of Akainu down into the cement as the man tried to ambush Straw Hat and Ace. A pulse of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and there was a new crevasse for the mad dog to fall to his doom.

One more scar across the face of Justice.

Again and again Whitebeard turned to unleash devastation behind them, while staying close to watch out for any more unwelcome surprises. At last though, they reached the ships, and his children all piled aboard.

He stayed ashore.

"Good," he gasped. "Now. Go!"

"But Pops!" begged his Sons, faces wet with tears. "You can still come with us!

"I've already made my decisions, and you have your orders," he said, trying to be gruff, except it was half-hearted at best. They heard the sadness in his voice…and the conviction in his eyes. A quick, penetrating look was thrown to his eldest child, before sweeping over them all. "Take care of our Family," were his final words.

They stared in stunned silence for half a minute, until Marco, refusing to wipe the tears from his face, barked out, "You heard him! Move!" Yet even as he turned his back on his Father to carry out those orders, he threw back a silent vow of his own. _Don't worry Pops, I'll be there to help guide my younger brothers and sisters into what is to come_.

He leapt over rubble, or batted it aside as he raced back to the heart of Marineford, determined to break the island forever with his wrath before he keeled over and died. _I_ want _to die alongside you my Sons, slipping quietly away to the next ocean where Thatch and all the others are. But I can't. And not just because a part of me hungers to die fighting._

 _The New Age is upon us, and I cannot be a part of it. It would lessen your own mark upon it; you must pave that new future yourselves._

 _Especially you, Straw Hat Luffy. That hat was entrusted to you for a reason. I know you will carry his Will to the end of the last sea._

 _However, before that happens, so that you will have the_ time _to do so, I must ensure that the world still knows to_ fear _the name: Whitebeard._

 _So that even in death I may watch over you._

 _So that the pirates who will rise up in the turmoil between eras will have my example of what a Captain_ should be. _The last one to flee in battle. The ultimate sword and shield for his crew._

Edward Newgate raced towards his death, determined to personally close his era with such a bang it would rock the world one last time.

 **-0-0-0-**

 _This wasn't how it was supposed to be!_ 'Blackbeard' Marshall D. Teach seethed as he fought to rectify this injustice.

He and his crew had been laying back as the marines and his former 'family' fought each other like puppets on Teach's strings, weakening each other so that he could gobble them all up. Yet then the old man had started throwing around earthquakes like there was no tomorrow. _Which there probably isn't for him. From what we intercepted from the broadcasts, that stab wound that idiot Squard gave him. Hah! He always was gullible, but really the rest of them aren't any better. The bond between parent and child doesn't matter much, and Squard just proved how easy it is to break. Now thanks to him, along with whatever the admirals did, the old man's probably already croaked_ , he thought nastily.

Unfortunately, even in his death throes, those very same earthquakes had exposed 'Colossal Battleship' Sanjuan Wolf, and thus the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates to the Navy. Even worse, the shifting island had meant that all three admirals had been kept back, along with Garp the Hero and Fleet Admiral Sengoku himself. Tired and weakened as those has-beens were, Teach and his crew were fighting for their lives against the elite of marines. They had gotten lucky when Akainu had gotten too close and too cocky, with Teach's the Dark-Dark Fruit making the logia vulnerable enough for Shiliew of the Rain to decapitate. Unfortunately, they had been too hard-pressed to harvest the man's Devil Fruit, or even gloat about it.

Still, Teach's original crew like Burgess were no slouches, and he had the pick of the crop of Impel Down's most infamous and dangerous inmates. Victory was still within reach.

"GU RA RA RA RA RA RA!"

The blood of every Marine and Blackbeard Pirate froze, while Teach went white as a sheet.

As one they turned to look up at the fearsome figure of _the_ Whitebeard standing above them upon a pile of debris. His hungry, predatory grin reminiscent of an old lion, wounded and exhausted, but claws as sharp as his cunning, and simply _delighted_ to find his enemies had already half-killed themselves for him.

 _But that's what my thing was_ , Teach whimpered to himself as he realized his role in what was about to come.

 **-0-0-0-**

Obeying their orders and sailing away as fast as they could, Whitebeard Pirates watched from afar as the War of the Best ended.

Tsunamis surged from Marineford, while the mighty and tall Naval HQ became collateral damage as it crumbled from all sides under the forces it endured.

Glimpses of a golden giant leaping through the air, shockwaves from his hands.

The massive form Sanjuan Wolf being covered with ice.

Above it all, a massive shroud of darkness that reach the heavens and hovered over the island. Yet it quavered and shook against the power that assailed it. Again and again it tried to rally to consume its prey, but the wrath of a Father could not be undone.

And so at last the darkness wilted away, and only silence could be heard from the island where the mightiest of foes had clashed.

 **-0-0-0-**

Off-shore, at some distance from both the retreating Whitebeard Pirates and Marine HQ, 'Red Haired' Shanks and his crew stretched out with their haki to see as much as they could.

Then as one they raised a cup of sake in silent salute to a rival –and a worthy one at that— Emperor.

It was the end of an era.

 **-0-0-0-**

It was a massacre.

At the heart of Marineford, corpses littered the ground. Only a few under the command of Commodore Smoker, one of the two highest ranking Navy survivors, had escaped.

Only two men remained upon Marineford to finish what they started.

Gasping, Vice-Admiral Garp drove his remaining fist deep into what was left of Whitebeard's heart. He may be the highest ranking marine left of that brief but bloody battle, yet with Blackbeard dead, Garp could now take Whitebeard with him.

"Garp," gasped Whitebeard, choking on blood even as his fingers wrapped around the Marine's head, a familiar distortion surrounding them. "You're a failure as a Father and a man…"

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **A grimmer chapter than I usually do, but I promise the next one will make up for it! :-D**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review and I will get back to you!**


	14. Chapter 14

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story.

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Guest Review answers :-D**

Rosinante

Hope that was a positive reaction ;-)

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

Yume

An interesting idea, but how would Bon be able to pull it off? Plus, likely still a death sentence for him…

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

Anoneme

Schlock Mercenary, Maxim 37: 'There is no "overkill." There is only "open fire" and "I need to reload."'

And yes, you could probably cook eggs on Ace's face at that point :-P

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

SargentEpsilon

Reasonable explanation for being a stripper, but still comedy gold for his extended family I fell :-P

LOL and yeah, that would be totally awesome to write with Whitebeard conquering Hades! :-D

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

MasterQwertster, here it is! :-D

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Warning: Spoilers for most recent chapter in the author notes.**

 **-0-0-0-**

The screams of defiance mixed with the dying as Marine and Pirate hurled themselves upon each other upon the blood-soaked pavement of Marineford.

The Whitebeard Pirates fighting to rescue a beloved brother, and avenge him.

The Navy having used 'Fire Fist' Ace as bait to lure in the greatest threat to the World Government, so they could crush Edward 'Whitebeard' Newgate once and for all.

Back and forth they had battled, until the marines had seemed to fully entrap the pirates to finish them once and for all. Only be sheer luck and grit had Whitebeard pulled his adoptive sons through and over the Containment Wall, and now they were fighting within the plaza before Ace's execution scaffold. The young man could only stare with resignation at the death being reaped in his name. Even more concerning for him though, was the one fighting at the spearhead of the charge:

Monkey D. Luffy. The Straw Hat.

Ace's little brother, who was pushing forward with his rubbery fists, duking it out with the best the Navy had to offer. All to save his precious family.

However, these were still the elite of the marines, and it showed…

Dozens of scratches and cuts covered his body, which had still yet to recover from the endless abuse he had put it through just to arrive upon this battlefield, such as breaking in and out of the previously impregnable and inescapable prison of Impel Down. Ducking and dodging, he danced around swords while his fists sang home, pushing himself to the limit to best his enemies.

"Kill Straw Hat!" roared one marine, swinging a spiked club down.

Leaping up as the ground under him was cracked, Luffy's arm briefly swung back before snapping forward for a punch that sent the man sprawling. "Outta my way!" he cried. "I'm here to save Ace!"

"The son of Dragon cannot be allowed to survive!" barked another, firing his rifle, unaware of how futile that was against a rubber body. "We can't let him grow up to become a true terror!"

"Shut up!" This time the young pirate simply kicked him… with a leg that stretched for three meters. Honestly he did not understand why people kept going on about such nonsense. Who cared about who his parents were? Luffy for sure did not.

All of this fighting was a problem though, as he knew he could only last for so long. Chopper would have had a fit ten times over now, however much he might understand his Captain's motivations. The cure Iva-chan would just have to last as long as necessary; and failing that, he would get him (Her? Did not matter) to give him another boost. Nothing else mattered so long as Ace was safe; Luffy would not lose another brother.

Until he was too slow.

A cutlass screaming at his head, Luffy pulled back just enough to live, yet still it cut true.

Right through the string holding on his signature straw hat.

"Hey!" he snapped, kicking his attacker in the head. "That's my Treasure!"

A random gust of wind propelled by another of Whitebeard's attacks from dozens of meters away caught it, and it wafted through the air.

And landed upon the head of a random guy.

His name was Captain Randal Querrion Narlini.

While that name might sound unfortunate, back on his home island it was the equivalent of John Smith, which pretty much described the man. Average, and unassuming. He was good with the sword, if hardly special. While strong enough to be recalled to Navy HQ for this climactic battle, he had yet to see any fighting yet as by fortune he had been closer to the back of the crowd. The kind of guy who may or may not survive the War of the Best, and if he lived might go on to become a Commodore before retiring home to marry his childhood sweetheart.

" **GAAAAAARGH!** " he screamed, before slouching over.

"Narlini!" his neighbour gasped. "What happened!?"

Narlini cut the man's head off.

…and the next twenty in that single swing.

Raising his head, under the shade of the straw hat, Captain Narlini's eyes glowed a sparkling gold.

"Huh," mused Luffy as he stopped to look at the commotion. "I've never seen that before. Even when Nami wore it, she never did something like that, and she'd've tried to get Arlong herself if she could've."

"Wh-what is this!?" Gasped Vice-Admiral Dalmatian, who was close by.

 _Haki_.

An overwhelming presence of haki seeming compressed right into a man's whose 'outline,' for lack of a better word, was that of an ordinary sailor. Along with something… else. Alien.

"I am not this _Narlini_ ," rasped Captain Narlini, his words carrying across the battlefield. "I am not even supposed to do this. I was to wait until the proper time, except that this is Roger's kid we're talking about. I liked Roger. I _am_ Roger. And Shanks. And Luffy. I am _all_ of them. And that part of me calls me to action."

"Impossible!" snapped Dalmatian.

Then a fist was shoved through his heart. "All of those mighty people and more wore me at one point, and for that honour they repaid me with a bit of their power. Now it seems the time has come to use it."

"W-wore!?" gasped Dalmatian with the last of his life. "H-hat! You t-the hat!?"

"Yes," the Hat answered remorselessly. "I am. Or as I am more commonly known, Uranus."

 **-0-0-0-**

Pluton. Poseidon. Uranus.

The names of three ancient gods of old, from a time so long gone that even their myths are a hazy tale.

However!

However…

To a select few the truth is known that at some point in the past those names were bestowed upon three mighty weapons of antiquity.

Pluton. The mightiest of battleships, capable of destroying a nation with a single shot.

Neptune. The power to command the mighty and massive Sea Kings that terrorize the oceans in countless numbers.

And Uranus…

The only Ancient Weapon, whose identity was lost to the ages…

…Until now.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Balderdash," grunted Garp. "It's just a tattered old thing that Roger passed to that brat Red-Hair, and then Luffy got ahold of."

But a drop of sweat was making it down his forehead.

"Regardless, it's putting off enough haki as it is to rival Whitebeard's, and it's growing," Fleet Admiral Sengoku noted with a forced calm. "We'd best handle it."

"Well, looks like one of the dogs is going to take care of it for us."

"Well, we do keep them around for a reason."

 **-0-0-0-**

Uranus hardened the arm of its unwilling host with haki, casually blocking the razor sharp threads of Donquixote Doflamingo, the 'Heavenly Demon.'

One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and while maybe not the most powerful, definitely one of the most feared.

"Well now," he grinned. "Things are finally getting interesting. Looks like Vegapunk wasn't the first to feed Devil Fruits to inanimate objects after all."

Despite this goad, Uranus just stared at him quizzically for a few moments.

In an instant he was before the Heavenly Demon, grabbing his throat to bring him face-to-face, ignoring the slashes of string that tried to cut or garrote him, and the fists that could crack mountains.

With this closer inspection though, the being looking through Narlini's eyes brightened. "I know you," the Hat mused. "Yes, you're a Celestial Dragon, aren't you?" He stopped to watch Doflamingo pale, as did everyone else as they saw the truth in his reaction, both pirates and marines. They even understood now how the man could have successfully blackmailed his fellow Celestial Dragons, to become a Warlord, and still be allowed to survive.

"ENEMY OF MY CREATORS!" the Hat screamed, ignoring how the throat of its host was spitting out blood. Black lightning crackled through his hand and the Heavenly Demon cried out in agony, flailing as gold light burst from his mouth and eyes, threads of dark power crackling over him.

Then it stopped.

Doflamingo hung from that grip, charred and steaming, but those with the ability could still dimly hear his mind's voice and sense his haki. Alive, if barely.

The Hat's host had a disappointed face on. "Alas, it is not my purpose to hunt your kind. I must leave that to others to kill you. _But_ ," reaching for his victim's face, Uranus smiled as maliciously as Doflamingo at his most enraged and sadistic, "I _will_ stuff those stupid sunglasses where the sun doesn't shine!"

 **-0-0-0-**

Luffy ignored the ensuing show because he was more interested in getting to Ace. After all, it had been clear that his Treasure could take care of itself in the meantime. Besides, Shanks would have adamantly agreed that saving your precious people was more important than some thing.

The dumb marines however were so spellbound that they did not even realize it was a pirate who was shoving and elbowing his way through their ranks.

It was perfectly clear that others had higher priorities also.

"Forget Whitebeard and Fire-Fist Ace!" roared Sengoku as the Fleet Admiral himself leapt down into the fray, a fully sweating Garp right behind him. "DESTROY THAT HAT! NO MATTER THE COST!"

 **-0-0-0-**

Bored after mutilating and traumatizing a Celestial Dragon, the Hat turned its attention to the army between itself and Roger's kid. Shanks's anchor. His friend. His own kid really, as a part of Roger made up his mind. A gestalt of all personalities that had worn it.

And yes, the part that was Nami was noting that with their power they could strip this island clean of even the furniture. What? Genuine Marineford souvenirs would be forth a fair price to a collector, especially if they leveled the island after 'repossessing' everything here. Why, then everything would become an irreplaceable memento of the Navy's pride! They could even try selling the toilet paper multiple times over (people were people after all), saying they were all from Fleet Admiral Sengoku's private privy!

The small piece of Robin (from briefly wearing it as Miss All-Sunday) noted that bloodstains would only add to the vintage value, and improve credibility.

The rest of the persona's making up Uranus were torn between thinking that was tacky, arguing that was a sound fiscal policy, or just laughing too hard at ripping off the marines like that to even voice their opinions.

During this highly philosophical internal debate (*cough*), the Hat was using his meat puppet to carve swathes through pawns of the World Government. With each swing, the sword would unleash a flying slash that would mow them down like wheat before a scythe.

Until one.

The sword being used was a standard marine cutlass, albeit blackened with haki. Yet if it were alive like its new wielder was, it might have been honoured by whom had come to meet and block it.

"Ah, of course, I understand," smirked Uranus.

"Do you," 'Hawkeye' Mihawk coolly remarked, hefting Yoru, the strongest blade in the world. And rightfully the sword of the world's greatest swordsman.

"Of course," and now his voice shifted to mimic Shanks. "You're thinking: 'If its got Red-Hairs memories, then it might also have his skills, and with two arms I could relive my joy of old.'" Then its grin became a hungry one, but eerily reminiscent of the owner of its voice.

Hawkeye's answering smile was as if he a starving Alpha Wolf had finally found a meal after days of starvation.

Their swords met in a shower of sparks.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Sooooo," Marco mused, noting how the Whitebeard Pirates had pretty much been forgotten. "What do we do now?"

"Advance as discretely as we can," rumbled Whitebeard himself, eyes narrowed. He had heard a few rumors and tall-tales in his long life, and he was not entirely sure that Hat would be on their side. It might be on Ace's side, but not the rest of his extended family.

Besides, right now the marines were too distracted.

 **-0-0-0-**

At some point Buggy and his crew had managed to get a Proko-class Den-Den Mushi, intending to project a video back to Sabaody Archipelago, detailing the awesomeness that was the Great Buggy the Clown.

That was until they saw the sight before them, and in shock the hand of one of Buggy's minions/devotees slipped, and activated the poor snail.

This was what Buggy and his crew broadcasted to the world:

The Hat twisted it's host body in mid-air, deflecting with Hawkeye's blade with his own in his right hand. His left leg shot out to connect with Kizaru's own lightspeed kick, the impact sending both of them flying back, with the Admiral off-balance but Uranus rolled in the air, 'coincidently' missing a downward punch from Garp.

Still moving mid-air, it kicked a cannonball that had come to close, and the haki infused projectile when slamming into Akainu's face, shredding his nose and cheek forever. As a final move, when he landed on one knee he projected a shimmering, golden shield that repelled Sengoku's own massive Buddha shockwave.

"YOU THINK THIS IS IT, DON'T YOU, SENGOKU!?" the Hat screamed. From his hand poured black thunderbolts, flecked with gold, carving gashes out of the massive Fleet Admiral.

"THE DAY OF _RECKONING_ THAT YOU AND YOUR MASTERS HAVE LONG FEARED! BUT IT ISN'T! THE PROPHESIZED ONE HAS YET TO APPEAR, BUT THEY'RE COMING! YOU CAN SENSE IT, CAN'T YOU!?

"THE GROWING ANGER AND HATRED IN THIS WORLD! AS THE PEOPLE HUNGER FOR THE FREEDOM YOU SO DELICATELY SUFFOCATE! HE OR SHE WILL EMERGE SOONER OR LATER, AND FIND THE **ONE PIECE**!

"AND ON THAT DAY, THEY WILL CHALLENGE THE WORLD ITSELF! THEY SHALL BE **THE VENGEANCE OF MY CREATORS! THE VENGEANCE OF—** "

Deftly Luffy plucked the Hat off the poor marine's head, with the man's body messily falling apart as the power keeping it together was cut off.

Frowning, Luffy plopped the Hat back on his head.

"Luffy!" Ace gasped in horror. During the commotion no one had noticed his little brother reaching and freeing him unopposed, somehow even procuring a key in the process.

Furious energy visibly crackled from Uranus, and Luffy flinched as it spread over him, shivering with pain, but not falling down nor moving to the whims of another.

"Why won't you just SHUT UP!" Luffy raged, the power of a Conqueror bursting out of him, knocking down hundreds of marines and dozens of pirates by accident.

Everyone on Marineford and Sabaody held their breaths.

"Phew," Luffy sighed, patting his Hat. "I'd better warn Shanks about that before I give it back to him. Thing's a real loudmouth." And then he grabbed a dazed Ace's hand and dragged him towards Whitebeard as fast as he could run.

None of the government sailors stopped him, and the Admirals were still too winded to do anything (Akainu was rolling on the ground holding his bloody face), and the Warlords had no interest. Except for Hawkeye, who was wondering what would happen if he gave that Hat to Roronoa Zoro…

 **-0-0-0-**

Two Years Later…

"So Luuuuuffy," crooned Nami. "Care to explain this?"

He is dead.

From the bottom of his heart, a sweat-soaked Luffy knows this is where his adventure ends, as he stares at Death with red tresses.

An aura of dark doom hangs about Nami, cooling the air as every one of the Straw Hats slowly edges away from her.

It really is putting a dampener on their reunion after being separated for so long.

With delicate slowness, she held up two wanted posters.

"Oh hey! I got a new bounty!" Beamed Luffy. "Let's see, 1 zero, 2 zeroes, 3 zeroes, 4—"

"It's a _billion_ belli bounty!" She snapped. "After your stunt at Marineford, they fear you almost as much as the Emperors! But more importantly, because of you shooting off your mouth, they did **_this_**!"

Blinking, Luffy took in her own poster, and realized there were some important differences.

Namely, instead of her posing in a swimsuit, now the photo features her in one of her _moods_ (i.e. whenever Luffy did something he called 'fun,' and she called 'stupid'), complete with burning red eyes and oversized fangs in her mouth.

"Witch Queen Nami, 315 million beli," he read out. "Wow! That's pretty awesome Nami! How'd you get it so high?"

Screaming in fury, she began beating on both his head and the insufferable Hat on top, which Navy feared her for since she could also safely wear it for some reason.

Within the mind of Uranus, he was wincing in pain at each blow.

"Wow," grimaced the Nami part of him. "So _that's_ what it feels like?"

"Yes!" Answered all the other voices.

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Truthfully, silverwolf1249 first came up with this idea months and months ago, with some help from my own 'One Piece: An Unexpected Ally,' and MasterQwertster, and it was supposed to be for chapter 16. Of course, with the reveal at the end of chapter 906, I had to accelerate things :-P Mind you, I would not be surprised if Oda dangled that image in front of us, only to later reveal that it was unconnected to what Doflamingo was saying… :-P**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	15. Chapter 15

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story.

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Guest Review answers :-D**

Yume

How would #2 be able to successfully impersonate Ace though? And survive preferably.

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

Anoneme

LOL yes indeed! Blushing probably worse when you are literally made of fire too :-P

And yeah: Schlock Mercenary, Maxim #37, "There is no 'overkill.' There is only 'open fire' and 'I need to reload.'"

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

SargentEpsilon

Reasonable for the strip dancing.

Yeesh yeah, and then Whitebeard would get upset because instead of good sake, there's only wine available! X-D

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

Chojomeka (Guest)

Luffy, Ace, Koby, and Helmeppo would indeed be devastated, and marine morale would take a hit. Not sure I could build a chapter out of that though.

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

Guest

Not as crazy as my usual, but hopefully the next chapter will make up for it ;-)

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

Kate (Guest)

Yeah, the OCs were meant to be weird, and I probably overdid it… Agreed, ch. 11 was a bit darker than my usual, and unfortunately if Garp HAD made a stand to save his grandchildren he probably would not have walked out of Marineford alive. The Navy would have never stopped chasing his, viewing him as the ultimate apostate.

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Warning: Spoilers for chapter 910.**

 **-0-0-0-**

Knowing what was about to happen, Ace _moved_ his body to fulfil his duty as the older brother: protect Luffy from harm at all cost, even if his own body must become a human shield.

But instead of the expected pain, he heard only a solid impact from behind him.

Whirling around, he beheld the unfathomable.

Each and every member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea were merciless, one-person army killing machines, with a variety of terrifying abilities. The World Government was very selective in choosing whom should be their representatives. Devil Fruit Powers, armies that they commanded, reputations, unique skills, and of course if they were proficient or not in Haki.

Boa Hancock had the last in abundance.

Her entire body darkened with Armament Haki, her crossed arms withstood the full force of the molten fist of Admiral Akainu; a feat even a Whitebeard Division Commander –except for 'Diamond' Jozu— could not match.

"So, you're betraying us too, _Pirate Empress_?" growled Akainu. "You know you're no match for me!"

"Love knows no limits," she hissed. "And for _daring_ to hurt my beloved, you are not even fit to be fed to animals!"

"' _Love!?_ '" he sneered back. "As if one of Roger's bloodline deserves that!"

Marines and the watching audience on the Sabaody Archipelago gasped in horror. For the son of the Pirate King to be with the Pirate Empress! Their offspring . . . a monster that would destroy the world!  
"What!? Ace's been holding out on us!?" cried a Whitebeard Pirate.

"So that's why he was never interested in going out on the town! He had someone back in Paradise."

"Fools!" shrieked Hancock. "As if I would be interested in someone like him! I mean ~Luffy~!"

The Navy and watching reporters were not reassured.

For the pirates, their respect for Luffy shot up a few more notches. Seriously, who was the kid? Was there some sort of toxic spill in the East Blue producing a new generation of hardcore pirates?

Akainu actually barked out a laugh. "Dragon's get is the same. Even if _he_ deserved love, how could you, the manhating Hancock possibly give it to him!?

With a scream of rage, she twisted her body to redirect the pressure, and kicked the man in the throat, sending him flying back.

"Move it, brother-in-law!" she snapped back.

"Say-what-now?" Ace blurted back. Br..br..b…brother in law?! Luffy got married. WITHOUT HIM! Oh, they were going to have some _words_ after this!

The listening reporters were still absolutely sickened by this development, except for the ones representing tabloids. A wedding like that could have been the wedding of the year! Clearly they needed to press their sources for details, or failing that make up quotes from some 'witnesses.'

"Well," drawled Hawkeye, "there goes the Warlord system, what with Crocodile, and Blackbeard deserting too." At least he was not expected to give a wedding present (although he did wonder if he missed any exotic wines. He wasn't sure what the amazons drank.)

"Move!" she icily ordered.

Too confused to even argue, he promptly grabbed his limp yet conscious brother, and high-tailed it towards the evacuation ship.

 **-0-0-0-**

Taking a deep breath, Hancock took in the sight before her.

The Marines, like men as usual, were too slow to keep up with the sudden turnabout, and were questioning each other what had just happened. If another Warlord had 'betrayed' them.

Hah! As if she had ever been loyal to such _dogs_!

Whitebeard's sudden arrival cut off any further ramblings, as he pile-drived Akainu down and into a canyon created by the Emperor's formidable powers.

Down out of sight the Admiral fell, except Hancock tracked him with her Observation Haki. "He's still alive," she flatly informed the man, who must be truly dying if he made such a rookie mistake.

With a grunt, Whitebeard struck the ground again, breaking off more of the island, and this time the faint aura of the 'Red Dog' fell beneath the waves.

"Better," she told the man, glaring up at him, knowing her complexion and dress were still flawless. As beautiful as her fighting skills.

"I will be in need of your flag's protection for the foreseeable future," Hancock bluntly stated. After all, as infuriating as that old hag was, the elderly former queen of Amazon Lily was correct that the World Government was too powerful too challenge without some form of protection. For now.

So she needed to keep him alive until at least past this battlefield with his reputation intact, and his Division Commanders able to defend their territory. Once he had sailed out of sight of the Marines, and promised to safeguard her home (which he and his mouth-breathing 'Sons' would probably honour), he could croak and die for all she cared.

However, in saving the life of her beloved husband ~Luffy~ she had made herself into someone the World Government would insist in making an example of. Make her _people_ an example of. Unacceptable.

Hence why she needed a _living_ Emperor to offer her protection. And now she had one who owed her a favour.

Staring at her, Whitebeard obviously had made the same connection. Clearly he was brighter than most of the useless beasts, if still not as brilliant as her ~Luffy~.

"Very well," he growled, and began a steady retreat.

 _Yes, definitely smarter than average_.

So the two of them began a steady withdrawal, with him throwing out earthquakes as if it were the end of days. In turn, she unleashed not hundreds of her Slave Arrows as she had done earlier, but _thousands upon thousands_ , falling just short of blocking out the sun.

For her love truly knew no limits.

(Unbeknownst to her, the other main reason their escape was so easy was because Shanks showed up and made the Navy back off from going after Luffy or Whitebeard. He was not late, dammit! Being _fashionably_ late was not the same as late.)

(Shanks was also sobbing at having missed the wedding, all because of his promise with Luffy. I mean, could the kid not wait a few more years!?)

 **-0-0-0-**

"Hmm, didn't see that coming," mused Blackbeard as he took in the sight of 'Pops' beating a 'strategic withdrawal' as it were. He had been gambling on the old man to make a heroic last stand to wear himself out more, when instead he was staying close to those deluded fools he called 'Sons.' And along with the protection of a Warlord whose was a lot stronger than he had given her credit for.

"Time to fall back for now boys," he called.

And then one of Whitebeard's earthquakes brought down enough of Marine HQ to leave the traitor and his crew exposed to the Navy.

"Uh oh…"

Shanks said he had no problem with the Navy handling the traitor.

Honestly, he just wished he had some popcorn. And sake. lots and lots of sake. A Cameko Den Den Mushi to store those glorious images might be a tad too gauche though.

 **-0-0-0-**

The Whitebeard Pirates would eternally regret missing Teach's 'reveal' to the Marines, the subsequent fight between both groups. However, they were more than satisfied that their beloved Father had come back home alive.

He had been rushed off to the captured Navy warship's medical bay, and a snot-nosed rookie by the name of Law had been shanghaied to help treat him. The promise of a favour from an Emperor –a _living_ one, being the key detail— had been more than enough to assuage him.

Now they just had to figure out what to do with the drop-dead gorgeous Pirate Empress. Especially since it was still a tad unclear as to what her motivations to betray the World Government like that had been. If it had just been to also earn the favour of an Emperor, that was understandable, except there were better –safer— ways to go about that.

"You were awesome back there, Hancock!" beamed Luffy, pulling her into a deep hug.

The woman looked like she was about to black out from sheer pleasure of that alone.

"I mean," he went on, "you just came out of nowhere and somehow managed to stop that admiral and knock him away! And they're saying you made it possible for the old guy to escape despite how he said he was going to die for some stupid reason!"

"I did my best," she managed to get out.

"Uhm, yeah," Ace chipped in. "Not that we're not grateful or anything," all of the Whitebeard Pirates promptly nodded in unison, "but _why_ did you do it?"

"To help my husband of course," Hancock answered as if it were obvious. Then her own words caught up to her, and she blushed while shooting a certain rookie a shy look.

"Luffy's married?" Ace softly gasped.

(It had been a very, very, veeeery long day for him, otherwise he there would be a lot more shouting and jumping around. Although he was still unsure what exactly his mood would be while doing so).

"Well, not yet," she confessed. "However as his brother, obviously you are invited to the wedding."

"So you're his fiancé," Ace clarified, just to be sure.

"That's what I said!" she snapped. "Of course I am, aren't I, ~Luffy~?"

(Ace was equally torn between pride and protectiveness at hearing his little brother's name said like that by a hot woman at least a decade older than the kid).

"Well," Luffy rubbed his head, "what's a fiancé?"

All the manly pirates and worldly okama just stared at him in shock.

Blinking once to break the spell, Jinbe quickly corralled Luffy over to the side to have a private discussion.

" _Murmur, murmur, marriage_."

Everyone stared, especially as the Fishman ex-Warlord became visibly flustered as he continued to talk in a hushed voice, and the Supernova increasingly confused as he answered back equally quietly.

"No it's not about food!" Jinbe finally roared.

He took a deep breath, and tried again.

" _Murmur, wife, murmur, dedicated, murmur_."

Ace was just starting to settle down and get his thoughts organized, when Jinbe nearly gave him a heart attack, screaming: "WHERE'D YOU HEAR THAT!? ACE, WHAT'VE YOU BEEN TEACHING YOUR BROTHER!?"

"Y'know," drawled Marco to the older brother in question, "we're probably going to have to give you a quick refresher test to make sure you really know too."

Hancock was continuing to blush, and mutter out her own thoughts. "—and then we'll have our honeymoon, which Luffy will probably want to slather on his meat…"

Wordlessly the First Division Commander communicated with his peers and Ivankov that Jinbe could talk to _her_ next.

"Oh, you mean sex!" blurted out Luffy, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"…You know what that is?" deadpanned Jinbe.

"Oh sure, we saw all sorts of that stuff in the Grey Terminal. Or when we were sneaking around alleys in the city and peeking into windows."

"It's not what it sounds like," growled Ace to the looks he was getting.

"Oh?" grinned Vista. "And just what _does_ it sound like?"

"Ooooooooh," moaned Hancock in a tone that made several men rush off for a cold shower (to do anything else might provoke the scary, dangerous, I-Fight-Admirals woman). "That means he's experienced!"

Several brains hiccupped, and the audience decided it was better all-around to keep quiet. For their sanity.

Fortunately Jinbe appeared to have made a breakthrough, as he was more confident in his tone and animations.

" _Murmur, wife, murmur, partner, murmur, commitment, murmur, romance_."

Luffy gave a few quick nods, and turned towards Hancock, only for Jinbe to grab him by the shoulder and spin him around. "Just a minute!" he said just loud enough to be overheard. "I need to be sure you've got it!"

Sullenly, Luffy spent about half a minute quietly talking back, before heading for Hancock without approval.

"I don't want to marry you."

"WHAAAAAAT!?" shrieked her and all the men.

"What is wrong with you!?" screamed one Whitebeard Pirate. "I'd kill to lay my hands on those heavenly—"

A sharp, heeled kick to the face shut him up, Hancock's desolate expression never leaving Luffy's.

"That right there," he explained, pointing at the groaning, bleeding man on the ground.

"The violence!?" she gasped. "I can change, I—"

"No!" he snapped. "You're actually pretty awesome when you're fighting! Or sneaking me into Impel Down! You're smart, strong, and always know what to do!"

"Then what is it?" the Pirate Empress all but sobbed.

"Well, you don't really care about other people, which bugs me, except I get why, and I can tell you're getting a lot better. You're opening up more, starting with the other Amazons. No, the real issue is that you don't act that confident or decisive around me. It's like you're a whole different person, and weak at that."

. . . _Cold_ , thought every stupefied man in hearing. Also, _This isn't going to end well._ They tensed up to act, as shadows covered Hancock's bowed face, and her fists shook.

"So be it," she hissed. Raising her head, she pointed a defiant finger at Luffy—although _without_ bending her head back as she would with any other man. "Then I shall be your enemy, and prove my strength to you by tearing down everything you hold dear, and take the title Queen of the Pirates for myself! Then you will recognize and love me!"

"Sounds sweet," Luffy grinned.

At that is the point where Ace picked up his _idiot_ little brother, and threw him to Jinbe, who promptly swam them both off to sea to get as much distance from the Woman Scorned, before he somehow managed to make it any worse. Seriously.

(Hancock still got Whitebeard's Jolly Roger for Amazon Lily. The Emperor even said he would have given two for how hard he laughed after hearing what had gone on while he was being treated).

 **-0-0-0-**

Two Years Later

It was over, at last Wano was free.

And it had been a nightmare for the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance trying to liberate it.

For it had not just been Kaido oppressing the people, oh no. Big Mom had also chosen to crash the party, escalating the situation beyond anything the world had ever seen as she brought the full might of her military down upon the battlefield.

(At least Jinbe had managed to rejoin his new crew, and Reiju Vinsmoke and the Sun Pirates were alright).

 _Then_ Admiral Fujitora showed up, having apparently disobeyed direct orders, arriving to claim Luffy and Law's heads, which he _technically_ had been commanded to do. And of course it was only _natural_ that he bring along a fleet with him to do it!

(In hindsight, asking for help from the Whitebeard Pirates, including their ailing Father, might have been an even smarter idea than they had originally thought. Buuuuut Luffy and Law were both adamant about doing this themselves.)

Suffice to say, what had once been Wano's capital was now a smoking crater.

. . . As well as basically everything else for twenty-five kilometers in any direction.

"Oh my goodness," moaned Nami as she collapsed onto the ground. "It's finally over."

"We'd just run out of medicine," Chopper sighed in relief, sitting down now that all his patients were safely tended too.

"Good fun," grinned Zoro, covered in blood, of which only about half of it was his own. Bartolomeo was squealing and taking photos with his only functional hand.

"SHUT IT!"

"Straw Hats!" At that Kin'emon ran up, panting for breath. While that was probably partially because of all the injuries covering the tall samurai, it was also clear he had been running hard. "Another ship has arrived, demanding your heads! It's full of scandalous women with weapons!"

"GAAAH!" shrieked Nami in rage. "THEY CAUGHT UP AGAIN!?"

She grabbed her sleeping captain by the cheek, and hauled his unconscious body on the ground behind her as she and the rest of her crew began running in the direction of their ship. "Tell them we just left!" she called back.

"How do the Kuja Pirates keep finding us!?" sobbed Usopp, limping behind as gamely as possible. "First Punk Hazard, although seeing them in bikinis even _there_ was nice, then Dressrosa, and you said Wholecake Island too! Aaaaagh!"

Robin was giggling, while helping Zoro keep up without having his intestines fall out.

"It seems Hancock was indeed serious about what she said," rumbled Jinbe as he ran alongside his new nakama. Then he flinched as eight pair of eyes bore down upon them.

"You mean," Nami quietly said, "that you know why the Pirate Empress is so obsessed in _chasing and trying to kill us all the time!?_ What did Luffy even _do_!? He's only talked nonsense so far! The newspapers all said they were married, but he denied it when we saw him next!"

"Uhm . . ." Jinbe procrastinated. "Did he perhaps, say anything about a spurned marriage proposal, and basically telling her to . . . best him?"

The other Straw Hats absorbed this.

"I'm going to kill him," Nami promised half-heartedly.

"If he refused _that_ , then that means he must be into men, which means less competition for me," grinned Sanji.

"Not if he is after you . . ." grinned Zoro. "I mean, he does love your cooking . . ."

"WHAT did you say marmiro!?" snarled Sanji, even if he paled a little.

"That's an interesting idea actually," Robin murmured. Sanji looked at her with eyes that flickered back between being betrayed and adoring.

Robin smiled mysteriously. "Of course, that also means the Pirate Empress is free to give you her undivided attention. All of it even."

"Robin-chwannnnn you are brilliant!"

"Murderous attention," murmured Nami under her breath.

"Nothing but trouble!" cried out Usopp.

The rest just nodded in resigned acceptance of the news, except for Brook and Robin who were both simply highly amused.

Usopp was too drained to even cry. "She's flirting with him by trying to murder us," he flatly said. "Who taught her that? Who?"

"Probably Luffy," Chopper sagely said.

"That's Captain Luffy for ya! SOOOOOO COOOOOOOOL!" Bartolomeo shouted to the cheering of their allies.

"The ultimate Casanova!"

"But I am more beautiful!" Cavendish all but sobbed.

"Not according to the most beautiful woman in the world. You're not!"

"Please stop, all of you. Just let me have my denial." Usopp groaned, his voice lost in the still in going wave of cheers.

"Who knows," Zoro grinned. "Maybe Luffy's kinky that way."

The other senior Straw Hats paused to consider this, and then as one slapped Zoro over the head. They did _not_ need that thought! (No there was no such image in their heads. It was just a thought which had already evaporated. Completely.)

"As for how she found us this time," Jinbe awkwardly continued, "you _do_ know that the newspapers covered Big Mom's public broadcast to Kaido that you were coming to Wano and she was offering to join forces with him? Right?"

"WHAT!?"

"You really should read the newspaper!" he admonished.

"Sanji and Chopper cut it up!" Nami snapped. A relieved sigh escaped her. "Well, that explains that at least. If not everything else. They way she's tracking us down, you'd think Luffy gave her a Vivre Card or something. . . .Except he wouldn't. . . .Because surely he wouldn't _help_ her be enemies, right!? He's not _that_ stupid! . . .Right? . . . I'm gonna kill him."

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **This will probably surprise you despite how many Luffy/Hancock chapters I have written for this story, but I honestly do not ship them. Or more specifically, I do not ship Hancock as she behaves around Luffy 90% of the time. The way she acts then, is not someone I can see Luffy viewing as a partner.**

 **However, during the infiltration of Impel Down and Marineford I feel we saw the side of her that Luffy could appreciate, especially if –as happens regularly in these chapters given her own power and humor potential—she helps save Ace.**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	16. Chapter 16

I do not own One Piece

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Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story.

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 **Guest Review answers :-D**

Disgruntled Seer

Sorry to hear that. Honestly, I rather like Buggy, it is just that I have little interest in writing him. Same with Alvida despite attempts for this fic. As for Hancock, I guess you missed the other chapters where they successfully married. In terms of her canon character development, I just feel she needs more before she could have a healthy relationship with Luffy. For his training, even if he did not do it with the Whitebeard Pirates, I would be highly surprised if Rayleigh only knew of only one good island to train on.

Hope you choose to read this latest chapter after all! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

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 **I added onto the ending of the previous chapter if you want to go read it, courtesy of the help of MasterQwertster**

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Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

Grinning, Whitebeard crossed his fists over his chest, preparing to unleash the tsunamis that made him so terrifying.

The marines had dared to imprison his precious son Ace, and planned to execute him, and just because the brat carried the blood of Gol D. Roger at that! No, here at Navy HQ, Whitebeard would unleash the full fury of a father to show the world why you. Did. Not. Mess. With. Fami—

"Pops!"

Marco's interruption shook the Pirate Emperor out of his thoughts, and actually made him stumble a little, barely managing to stop unleashing a wild earthquake. Turning his head around to look at his eldest Son, he tried to figure out what had made the lad (despite the fact being many years older than Whitebeard) interrupt him.

Then he saw it.

Then he knew this would be a lot more complicated than he had anticipated.

 **-0-0-0-**

"I see," murmured Fleet Admiral Sengoku as he saw the approaching fleet. A fleet which was _not_ with Whitebeard. For the symbol on the sail was one he hoped he would never see again . . .

Calmly, because it was his duty to reassure his men that he remained in control, he addressed a nearby subordinate. "Cut the transmission feed. Now. We cannot let the world see this."

Glancing down and to the side, he saw the paling face of 'Fire Fist' Ace. "I see you recognize them," Sengoku noted. "Despite how many years it has been since they've made an appearance. Although it's understandable for Whitebeard to have ensured you were warned about them. Indeed," and now he stroked his chin, "I don't know if their target is Whitebeard, the Navy, or even yourself. To kill you for the crimes of Roger."

Slowly, Fire Fist turned to give Sengoku a blank look.

 **-0-0-0-**

The Whitebeard Pirates and their allies hastily repositioned themselves so they could defend themselves from both the marine defenders and the newcomers.

Trusting their subordinates to handle this, the infamous Captain of the Whitebeard Pirates and his equally notorious First Division Commander were having a serious discussion.

"It's your ex-girlfrieeeend~," Marco softly sing-songed out of the side of his mouth.

"Shut uuuup," Whitebeard growled back as his scar ached. Not the one over his heart from Roger, but the patchwork one over his right chest. The reminder of the one –and only— time he had tried to flirt with a woman.

 **-0-0-0-**

Figuring Sengoku already had enough on his plate trying to figure out a plan to handle _this_ scenario, Admiral Aokiji sat up and walked forward to address the troops.

 _Coughing up blood as he lay on the deck, Ensign Kuzan could watch as his vice-admiral bravely stood before him, futilely trying to fight off the monster they faced._

 _The Navy had thought they had sprung the trap, while in truth they had locked themselves in with the wolves . . ._

With effort he shook off that memory _. I'm not a kid anymore, and by the time this day is through, they'll_ wish _the rumours of their deaths were true._

"Marines!" he barked with uncharacteristic seriousness. "The enemy approaching us is extremely dangerous. You have likely seen Wanted Posters for them before. What you are not aware of, is that the World Government has classified certain secrets about them. For instance, their leader possesses the most dangerous Devil Fruit of all: the logia-class Mizu-Mizu Fruit, making her a Water Woman. Control over the sea itself, and any source of water!

"You can understand why it is best for no one to know that such terrifying power exists, and why the wielder was a rival of the Pirate King, even if they never sought Raftel.

"This is why you may be surprised you have not heard of them, or seen any recent Bounty Posters for them. That, and the fact we thought they were dead.

The marines all muttered nervously at this declaration, and Aokiji could emphasize. He had his own scars on his chest from this band of criminals, and he had a grim feeling he was going to be picking up a few more before the day was through.

"But do not waver! We are the defenders of Justice! All of you came here today to challenge and kill Whitebeard himself! The Strongest Man in the World! We are ready for even this new threat! We shall ensure that this time they are all dead for sure! We! Shall! Prevail!"

Heartened by these uncharacteristically bold words from the most lazy-going admiral, the marines raised their weapons in the air to roar their challenge to their enemies.

For Justice!

 **-0-0-0-**

Now the newly arriving fleet was pulling up only a few hundred meters from the Whitebeard's allies.

To his trained, seaman's eye, Marco could tell that the ships were showing signs of excessive wear, having likely been forced to travel at high speeds through harsh weather. Any true sailor, be they pirate or marine, would have despaired at such rough treatment of fine craft. It was clear they would have to be shortly disposed of after being treated so irresponsibly. Unsurprising, given the people in charge. _They probably hijacked the ships to bring them here, and are planning to steal more to get home afterwards. Hmm, I wonder if they're planning to steal ours, the marine's, or both—yoi_.

At the bow was woman of the hour, with her top lieutenants just behind her. Even from this distance it was clear they remained as deceitfully dangerous as ever.

 _Although wow, she has put on weight!_ Marco thought, hiding any snickers behind a stoic expression. No need to start another war after all.

Coming to a halt mid-air and halfway between the lead ship and the _Moby Dick_ , Marco the Phoenix sucked in a deep breath and bellowed across the water. Every ear in Marineford strained to hear what happened next.

" **Why have you come here? What are your intentions, Bandit Queen 'Curly' Dadan?** "

Despite how she had gotten fatter, and frankly more masculine looking, Curly Dadan's signature orange hair still glistened as she hefted her axe onto her shoulder. Behind her were her right-hand men, Dogra and Magra, as well as the rest of the vast army of bandits who she had called into service.

Take a quick drag on her cigarette to try and (fail) to calm her nerves, she roared back, " **I didn't spend all those years raising the brat after Garp dropped him off at my door to let him die now! It's a mother's duty to look after their kid after all!** "

 **-0-0-0-**

Red faced with unspeakable fury, veins on the backs of his hands while his fingers _twitched_ with a need to _throttle_ a _certain_ someone, as he stalked while hunched over, Sengoku reached the edge of the Execution Platform to **_glare_** down at the rapidly paling Garp who was standing by the bottom of the Execution Scaffold. A strangled growl escaped the Fleet Admiral's barred teeth as he found himself so full of murder he was incapable of speech.

"I didn't know!" gasped Garp. "I swear Senny, I mean Fleet Admiral Sengoku! I thought she was just some bandit!"

Vice-Admiral Tsuru's sharp tongue snapped out, "We've had Wanted Posters of her for decades! Hers was right up beside Roger's! How could you not recognize the Bandit Queen when you _walked by her picture several times a day!?_ _ **Every**_ _ **day!**_ "

Tapping his fingers together like a toddler, Garp sunk his chin down. "Well, I only hunt pirates, so I never . . . really . . . looked at . . . the bandit . . . ones."

Just before Sengoku lost all composure and leapt down screaming to strangle his oldest friend, he heard a choking sound from behind him. He whirled around to see Fire Fist Ace starring at him bug-eyed. "This, this is some kind of . . . joke. Right . . . ?" the young man managed. "Some kind of, y'know, sick Navy joke. _Right?_ " He said the last word as if saying "please?"

It took Sengoku an embarrassing amount of time to figure out what the pirate meant. "You mean, you didn't know either?" he hazarded.

"NO! You can't expect me to believe that Dadan's some sort of, of, Bandit Queen! What even is that!?"

"It's the title of the one who commands all the major bandit gangs," Sengoku tiredly answered. Then he quietly muttered with despair, "What a family . . ."

Then he squared his soldiers, and turned his attention back to the battle at hand.

Alright, so now they were dealing with two Emperor-class threats, except both wanted Fire Fist alive. And Marineford's defenses and traps were still intact. It would be bloody, and if they failed to keep a lid on the casualty reports, it was possible Shanks, Kaido, and Big Mom might take advantage of the Navy's weakness. On the other hand, there remained a good chance they could end the Great Pirate Era, _and_ destroy the strongest bandits all in one day. If they could pull that off, then it would be all worthwhile.

 **-0-0-0-**

At the same time Sengoku barely dodged a mental breakdown, Ace was 40% sure this was some elaborate hoax. And 58% positive he had snapped instead. And 1% that he was already dead, and this was hell or heaven, or whatever . . .

 _It's_ Dadan _we're talking about! The old hag who would run around screaming while Luffy was biting into her head!_

Unfortunately, that nagging 1% was cheerfully pointing out Ace lack the imagination to make himself hear his terrifying grandpa sound as nervous as that.

 **-0-0-0-**

"I'm sorry," Marco called down. "Are you saying that you raised Ace . . . and he never told us about it!?"

"He doesn't know, and not for lack of trying on my part!" Bandit Queen Dadan snapped back in frustration. "But yeah, and I've got the photo album to prove it!" Then she scowled and looked aside. "Not to mention all the depleted booty. Do you have _any_ idea how much diapers cost!? And they call _me_ a criminal!

"And then of course the cost of food . . . We had to steal a whole herd of goats to milk to keep up, and _ugh_ the baby food. Whole floor covered in empty jars! We thought that was bad enough, but once his teeth shot in –which was a nightmare in itself— he started scarfing down all of ours! We had to go days without food because of him, even when he was a toddler! Queen of bandits my ass, I was going to announce bankruptcy! Really, I was dreading when he grew up, had nightmares about it . . . But thank god at least he hunted some of it…"

Cocking his head in thought for a moment, Marco's face suddenly split into a devious, _nasty_ grin. "If you've got baby pictures for us to tease him over, we'll bring the booze."

"Done!"

"And we can trade embarrassing stories too. Serves him right for not telling us enough. Next thing you know we'll find out his little brother is actually adopted too, and the child of some other world class criminal."

Dadan just stared at him.

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me!"

"Nope."

Throwing an affectionate scowl in Ace's direction, Marco got down to business. "Alrighty then, so we work together to get Ace back? We'll go up the middle, and you take the sides so we don't get in each other's way?"

Hefting her axe, the Bandit Queen nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

"Oh, and Pops told me to ask if you're free tomorrow evening for a little private dinner—"

"MARCO!" roared Whitebeard. "Get onto the battle you cheeky brat!"

Chuckling, Marco flew off. He was going to pay for that, but sooooo worth it.

 **-0-0-0-**

The start of the battle was quick and ruthless.

Befitting of the Bandit Queen.

With a roar of fury, Dadan lifted her arms to send three massive waves baring down on Marineford. The largest through the center, was shaped by her will to resemble Ace himself, while the ones directed at the 'arms' of the island looked for some strange reason like 'Straw Hat' Luffy, and someone else.

Grimacing, Aokiji leapt into the air to shoot out beams of ice to freeze each of them solid. With the admiral exposed, Dogra and Magra were upon him despite the massive distance, with the latter's chicken-like hair suddenly appearing terrifying as he took a deep breath and spat a massive ball of fire at the admiral.

A wall of ice met the attack, only for Dogra to burst through both the fire and ice and land a cut on the much taller man.

Grunting more in surprise than pain, Aokiji responded by stabbing an ice spear into the turbaned man's shoulder.

Marco the Phoenix joined the party with a devastating kick that smashed the admiral down into the pavement far below. Unconscious.

"One down," grinned the pirate.

In perfect synchronization, they then stomped down on the massive ice-sculpture of Ace that towered over the bay, breaking it free from its base and bringing it down to form a massive bridge across the water and right into the plaza behind all the defensive fortifications.

It was an imperfect bridge, and definitely vulnerable to the remaining admirals, yet still sufficient for now.

Especially when more giants made of water landed in the plaza and started wreaking havoc.

Dimly Ace took offense to the fact that Luffy was depicted as tall as him and Sabo, when the baby brother should obviously be shorter.

Oblivious to his critique, the most fearsome bandits and pirates in the world swarmed into Marineford.

 **-0-0-0-**

"There's another fleet here," rumbled Jinbe as he steered their captured Navy warship towards Marineford.

"But are they friend or foe," Ivankov asked.

"I would say friend," Jinbe said. "Except not Whitebeard's usual allies, as I do not recognize them. Indeed, if they were more familiar with fighting beside him, Whitebeard would've already set off a tidal wave without having to worry about sinking them."

With that reminder, Buggy was frantically double-checking that all marine symbols were crossed out, and that a crude, generic Jolly Roger was in place. Army of disposable underlings or not, if the ship sank, he was done for.

Finally their lone ship pulled up close enough for them to see who had arrived.

"Oh, it's Dadan! Hey Dadan! Dogra! Magra!" Luffy continued to wave while listing off other names while his companions stared at him in disbelief.

"Luffy," Jinbe cautiously said. "You know them?"

"Huh? Oh sure. They're the dumb bandits that raised Ace and me. I'm glad to see them here though. Dadan's really strong, even if she's a bit of a crybaby, and I knew she could raise an army, but I didn't think she could get here in time."

Everyone stopped to stare at him in disbelief. And not just the former prisoners either. His words had managed to carry across the waters to reach even the Execution Scaffold.

Thus the marines were starting to pale as they realized they had been naïve. The bandits and pirates had clearly been in cahoots for years! Just what sort of monster was Straw Hat if he was _also_ raised by Dadan!?

(Several brains also broke at the idea that someone, that anyone, would _dare_ call 'Curly' Dadan a crybaby.)

"You were raised by bandits," Ivankov dully asked. _Clearly I'm going to have to have a few . . . words with Dragon. I mean,_ honestly _, if you're not sure you're up to the challenge of raising your own child, what's wrong with finding a nice family to adopt them?_ _It can't be_ that _hard!_

"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS!?" shrieked Ace.

Luffy blinked with joy, and hollered back. "ACE! YOU'RE OKAY! THAT'S GREAT—"

"SHUT UP AND ANSWER ME! YOU MEAN THAT DADAN – _DADAN!_ — REALLY IS A, A, A…" the infamous pirate trailed off.

"STUPID ACE! I CAN'T ANSWER YOU AND SHUT UP AT THE SAME TIME!"

"JUST ANSWER ME!" screamed Ace, trying rip his way out of his shackles in his fury.

Sengoku was giving serious thought to ordering a mild sedative for the prisoner. It would hardly create be the desired impression if Rogers' spawn died from popping a blood vessel from being too angry.

Actual hostilities had yet to actually resume between either sides, as they were all too engrossed in this latest dash of drama.

"WELL OF COURSE I KNEW! DADAN TOLD US A BUNCH OF TIMES!"

" ** _WHEN!?_** "

Then Luffy's face went blank as he considered. "Huh." Then he took a deep breath, "WELL Y'SEE…"

 **-0-0-0-**

 _[Flashback]_

 _"_ _Alright, brats," huffed Dadan. "It's about time I tell you that I'm actually a pretty important bandit. In fact, I even fought Gold Roger a few times. Hah! And Garp doesn't even have a clue!"_

 _Then her eye twitched as she realized Ace had fallen asleep through it, even as Sabo gaped in disbelief._

 _Luffy was picking his nose, appearing unimpressed._

-0-

 _"_ _Hey, Dadan," Ace said. "Why'd you get so many letters?"_

 _"_ _Huh? Oh, just keeping in touch with some other bandits."_

 _"_ _Wha!? Why'd other crooks want to do that with you?"_

 _"_ _Well you see, I'm—"_

 _Ace collapsed, fast asleep._

 _Dadan threw up her arms in frustration, and tried to wait for him to wake up. After three hours she gave up and went to check how dinner was going. Predictably that was when Ace got up and wandered off._

-0-

 _"_ _Ace," Dadan firmly said. "I—"_

 _Asleep._

 _Right on cue._

-0-

 _"_ _I'm the Band—"_

 _*Plop*_

-0-

 _Dadan was grinding her teeth while positively seething at the sight of a sleeping Ace. Luffy's laughter was hardly helping her mood._

 _"_ _Gaaaaaah!" she roared in frustration. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was doing it on purpose!"_

 _"_ _Well, why not stop? Why does it even matter?"_

 _She glanced down at little Luffy, who went on. "Who cares if you are the Bandit Queen or not, you're still Dadan."_

 _With that, he locked one arm around Ace's neck and dragged his snoring brother out of the room. They had training to do._

 _The mightiest woman alive could only stare dumbfounded after them._

 **-0-0-0-**

Present

Ace blinked once. Twice.

" **GRYAGHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—** *gasp!* Huh, huh, huh, *Suuuuuck* **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!** "

That scream of pained frustration made everyone stop, and even Sengoku looked at him in sympathy.

 _It almost feels like we could bond over the madness of the Monkey family…_

 **-0-0-0-**

"Ace is being weird again," muttered Luffy, pinky cleaning out his ear. "Let's go save him so he can calm down. Meat should help."

"Yes, let's," Ivankov weakly agreed.

 **-0-0-0-**

With all this mighty power behind them, the scum of the world was now within the Execution Platform. The only real delay was the Human weapons, the Pacifistas, coming from behind.

Jinbe was handling them however, as it turned out the machines were vulnerable to salt water. Particularly when it was dozens of liters dumped on them at once with the force of a cannon-shot.

The other main issue was the Warlords, who were being used to buy time while Admirals Kizaru and Akainu were trying suppressive fire with their mighty Logia abilities. Dadan was dishing out as good as the remaining two of the Navy's 'Ultimate Weapons' gave out, while Whitebeard kept an eye on the overall battlefield.

Still, the Seven Warlords of the Sea were nothing to joke around about.

Hawkeye was keeping Vista busy, and had already beaten Crocodile after Dadan and Whitebeard had sent the man flying away. Something about how only she could cut up Whitebeard.

Luffy was very confused about that last line, and Ivankov resolutely told him to ask his mom later.

The Okama King was no fool!

Moria was being kicked while he was down by a bunch of the Whitebeard Division Commanders.

Hancock had just come out of her swooning at the sight of 'giant Luffy's' to realize he was now here in person. Cue more blushing fantasies that kept her distracted. That did nothing to stop her from slaughtering any marine, pirate, or bandit, who got too close to disrupt her focus on more important matters.

Kuma was busy fighting 'Rooster' Magra and 'Diamond' Jozu at once, and while he was stalling them, it was clear where the tide was going.

"Well now," cackled Doflamingo. "The famous Dogra himself!"

The short, turban wearing man gripped his sword tightly, calm and ready.

With a few kicks, he took to the air with Sky Walk.

"Really!" grinned the 'Heavenly Demon,' as he also flew up using his strings attached to the above clouds. "You wish to fight _me_ up here!"

"I want to keep scum like you away from my nakama," Dogra simply said. "No need for them to be stained by your polluted blood."

"'Polluted,' you say," sneered Doflamingo, as if at some hidden joke.

"You heard me . . . Celestial Dragon."

 _That_ made Doflamingo falter briefly, before regaining himself. However now his smile was far more demented, and angry veins throbbed on his forehead. "You know who I am, and still wish to challenge a _god_?"

"Sorry," Dogra smirked, flicking his sword so it was on fire. "My full name is Trafalgar D Dogra, and I don't believe in you."

With a defiant roar, he flew right at Doflamingo, cutting and burning through every string before breaking through the twisted man's guard.

Plunging his sword right through his heart.

And twisted the blade as Doflamingo gasped and spasmed, his last breath rattling out.

Seeing it was over, Dogra adjusted his weapon so it was tilted down for the corpse to slide off into the ocean. "Fall. Like the rest of your kind will."

 **-0-0-0-**

"Hancock, the Pirate Empress," growled Dadan, hefting her axe. "Out of respect for a fellow woman who's reached so far, I'll take you on myself."

"You misunderstand," Hancock serenely said. "I'm not here to fight, but to invite you to Luffy and I's wedding, mother in laww~~"

The Dadan Family all froze before turning to her in shock.

"You're planning to marry my son?" repeated the Bandit Queen with an eerie calm.

Unbent, unbowed, and unstoppable, Hancock gave a simple yet firm nod.

"Very well then. OY! WHITEBEARD!"

"WHAT!?"

"I NEED YOU TO MARRY MY SON AND THE PIRATE EMPRESS!"

"NOW!?"

"YES NOW! I'M NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER AND I WANT GRANDKIDS! SHIP CAPTAINS CAN OFFICIATE MARRIAGES, RIGHT? SO GET OFFICIATING!"

"HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW A WORD LIKE 'OFFICIATING'!?"

"I BLAME THEIR OLDER SISTER!"

"SISTER!?"

"WHOOPS! NEVER MIND THAT!"

Hesitantly Ivankov leaned towards Luffy and whispered, "Is your older sister Dragon's?"

"Nah, that's Makino," said a distracted Luffy. "Now, can you let me go?"

The Okama was literally carrying him towards Dadan as fast as he could run. "Nope! Dragon might be put out at missing this, but I'm not going to interfere with a wedding planned by Whitebeard and 'Curly' Dadan!" Ivankov plopped Luffy down beside Hancock, who snatched up his hand faster than the eye could see.

"Marriage? What's marriage?" he asked.

"It's when someone cooks you meat every day, and gets me grandchildren to coo over before handing them back to their parents." She managed to bite back a malevolent chuckle before darkly muttering, "Be little angels with me, and then send them home with sugar highs to wreck _your_ house."

"Oh, okay."

Ace would have contributed his own two cents, but frankly he was still busy trying to piece back together his shattered world view. Otherwise he would be screaming something about demanding to be down there as the best man. Or he would have likely recklessly shouted how it was only proper for the youngest brother to marry last before realizing he had backed himself into a corner.

(Very good chance in the latter case he would have found himself married off to a certain Ensign Isuka before either of them figured out what was going on. And when the two of them ran of screaming it would be misinterpreted as eloping.)

Whitebeard coughed into his fist, while his bisento casually knocked aside a trio of cannonballs, and then bellowed, "WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY TO WITNESS THE MARRIAGE OF MONKEY D. LUFFY AND BOA HANCOCK. IF ANYONE HAS ANY OBJECTS TO THIS UNION, SPEAK NOW OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE."

"WE OBJECT!" screamed the Marines.

"Nooooooooooooooo," moaned Garp. "Luffy needs a marine marriage…. Sengoku should marry him…"

"Gurararara! Overruled!" laughed Whitebeard, unleashing an earthquake on them. "I HEARBYE DECLARE YOU HUSBAND AND WIFE! YOU MAY NOW KISS THE BRIDE!"

Grabbing Luffy's face and pulling it up so that his neck stretched, Hancock poured all her passion into her kiss.

It was extremely awkward, as neither of them really knew what they were doing, and the groom was still lost even on what exactly was happening.

"Right," Dadan said after she felt they had practiced enough, and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "Go back to the ship, and get to work on making my grandkids."

"How?"

The Dadan Family all blinked in unison at Luffy's question. _Oh right, we didn't want to be the ones to explain about sex, so we pushed it off onto Makino and the Mayer . . . Without telling them. And it was too hard trying to ask them. So we then left it to Garp . . . And then whoever his crew was . . . right . . . ?_

Everyone looked at Hancock, who was now bright red and silent. "Well," she hesitantly offered, "we've kissed, so doesn't that mean I'm now pregnant?"

She was met by the blankest faces she had ever seen as the audience processed that itsy, bitsy statement.

What?

What?

What!?

Huh!?

. . . Greeeaaaaaaat.

Well then . . .

All of the bandits, pirates and revolutionaries stared at each other, trying to figure out what to do next, while desperately praying that _they_ would not be the ones to have deal with this nonsense.

Moaning, Dadan rubbed her forehead in frustration. Well, it was not like they could just—she paused. _Well, it_ is _Luffy after all. Maybe the odds aren't too bad for it?_

"Alright, you two go find a cabin and get naked. Hopefully you'll figure it out from there. We'll check in an hour, and if we're not hearing the right noises, we'll force a marine to explain it to you. Luffy, is there any of them here you actually respect?"

"Well there is Smokey, bu—"

With a speed that would brought awe to an Emperor, Commodore Smoker grabbed Tashigi and deserted his post.

No one in the Navy blamed him.

In fact, many were following suit.

Life and death battles to determine the future of the world and Justice were one thing.

Having to give the Birds and the Bees talk was another.

Many of them had left home to sail the seas to get _away_ from that sort of thing! Let their wives handle their teenage kids and hormones and _relationships_!

 **-0-0-0-**

"Y'know," Ace said in a dull tone to Sengoku, "neither of us are really coming out of this looking good."

Sengoku ignored him, trying to salvage the battle.

Ace just slumped there, resigned to his fate. Not the execution, oh no, to now _both_ Whitebeard and Dadan working together to find him a 'nice girl' to settle down with. Sure as Luffy was now being dragged away in Hancock's arms of iron to find somewhere with four walls and a door, and preferably a bed. No one was really listening to his little brother's complaints about saving Ace now.

Although to be fair, given the size of the army coming up here to rescue him, the outcome did seem fairly inevitable.

 **-0-0-0-**

"No!" squirmed Luffy. "I don't want to! I need to go save Ace!"

"Luffy-Boy," cajoled one of the bandits he had grown up with. "Your mom will take care of everything. You just go off with your wife and do what comes naturally?"

"NO! AAAAAAACE!" screamed Luffy, as raw haki exploded out of him.

A Conquering King.

The Pirates, Bandits, and Revolutionaries who were accidentally caught in it shivered, with some even falling unconscious, yet it was the marines who were the worst off. Dozens collapsed before a brother's need to protect.

However, with Ivankov's adrenaline shot now wearing off, the burst of power merely made him sag in exhaustion and stop resisting.

Without pause Hancock lifted him into her arms bridal style (although now groom style) and carried him off the field of battle.

A solitary tear dripped from Dadan's eye. "My baby boy's learning his haki now! He's growing up so fast!" she pulled out her hanky (a ratty, tattered thing that Luffy had brought home from the junkyard years ago) to wipe her face.

Then she hefted her axe once more as fire burned in her eyes. "Alrighty then! Now that that's out of the way, time to rescue my other one!"

 **-0-0-0-**

Akainu was re-evaluating his life choices as Whitebeard, Marco, _and_ Jozu were all beating on him.

Kizaru was squaring off against Jinbe (who had just caught up), Ivankov, Izo of the 16th Division, Magra, Dogra, and Captain Squard whose mind Akainu never got a chance to corrupt. While they were all clearly weaker individually, and only a few of them were used to working together, they made up for it all with pure skill, determination, and refusing to relinquish the initiative to even their monstrously strong adversary.

It did not help that by this point about one-third of the remaining Marines had deserted to avoid discussing the 'Birds and the Bees.'

Between that and other casualties, frankly the Marines were outnumbered by this point, and running out of their own powerhouses.

With an aura of cold death, Dadan walked up to the Execution Scaffold, axe hefted over one shoulder.

In an explosion of smoke and debris, Vice-Admiral Garp the Hero, landed at her feet. Veins throbbing on his legendary fists, he glared at the woman he know blamed for leading his grandchildren into crime.

"How dare you!" he growled. "All of this— _all of this!_ — is your fault! Neither Ace nor Luffy would be here or wanted criminals if it weren't for you!"

She spat on the ground. "Sure, blame the woman who raised them as best she could, not the man who left them with _bandits_ to be raised. What were you smoking when you thought they'd become marines that way!? Honestly! I want to know! Because that's been what's been buggin' me the most all these years!"

"I was thinking that no one would think to look for them there, and you were all too afraid of me to lead them astray. If they saw what a life of crime was like, they would want to be better! Be law abiding citizens at worst, and proper marines at best! I just never realized what a liar you are!"

"Hah! I really was scared the first time we met, since I honestly assumed you'd brought all three admirals with you, and a fleet or two. Which would mean the nice peaceful island we'd made our home on would be destroyed. When you didn't seem to recognize me, I thought you were faking it, so I played along. And for a few years after that until I realized you _genuinely didn't know who I was!_ "

She snorted. "By that point Ace had been with us long enough for me to call him my son, and I didn't want to uproot him to move away. If you were going to be so stupid and irresponsible to leave him with us, who was I to say otherwise?"

Pausing, Garp considered defending his position more soundly.

 _Eh, nah_. Frankly, solving things with his fists was what he was good at. Maybe if he was lucky, Ace would find some way to escape in the chaos.

Besides, right here, him and Dadan? This was personal.

For crying out loud, the woman had married Luffy off without Garp even being able to give the bride away! What kind of monster _did_ that!?

With a roar he charged, bringing to bear a punch that could still carve out a mountain.

An axe with a literal tidal wave behind it rose to the challenge.

 **-0-0-0-**

Fleet Admiral Sengoku was giving serious thoughts to negotiating so that he would be the one to make the sacrifice play and give Straw Hat and the traitorous Pirate Empress 'The Talk,' if only so the rest of his men could get away.

As it were, things were looking _pretty_ bad.

Unfortunately, that would also make him complicit in the creation of _another_ generation of demon spawn.

Desperately he reached out with his Observation Haki, trying to find some sort of angle he—

Wait.

What?

What!?

Pieces clicked together in his mind, and he came up with a plan in the space of a second.

A key appeared in his hand like magic, and Fire Fists shackles were off, and Sengoku was in his giant Buddha form, tossing him as hard as possible towards a certain pile of rubble, knocking it over to expose the people behind it.

The fighting halted just long enough for everyone to see a groaning, immobile Ace lying at the feet of 'Blackbeard' Marshall D Teach, and a gang of ex-Impel Down Prisoners. The worst of the worst.

"Zha ha ha ha ha!" laughed Blackbeard, yet there was a distinctive nervous tone to it.

Something about the Death that Dadan and Whitebeard were glaring his way.

Pausing to only kick Akainu in the crotch one more time, the Emperor of Pirates stormed towards the traitor. "Teach," he rumbled, and the earth itself seemed to shake.

"So he's the one," snarled Dadan, and the waves trembled.

Even Garp backed off. He could kill Dadan later—Teach was the one to actually hurt and capture his precious grandson.

A few quick, silent gestures from Sengoku, and all the marines beat a hasty retreat.

Akainu was left behind, but they did manage to snag Aokiji.

"Well, this is unfortunate," leered Blackbeard, despite the sweat dripping down his face. "I'd originally hoped for you to be a bit weaker, 'Pops.' Except now I've got a new prize." Naked greed shone through in his eyes. "The Water-Water Fruit! I never imagined that there'd be such a—"

Ace shoved a simmering fist down his throat.

"Don't. You. Dare. _Threaten my MOTHER!_ _ **FIRE FIST!**_ "

So the dreams of Teach died in hot air.

His original pirate crew screamed for vengeance, and the former prisoners decided to make their attempt on Whitebeard too.

Their attempts were either sad or entertaining.

Whitebeard traded fists with Sanjuan Wolf, the 'Colossal Battleship' and largest giant in history. The far, far smaller man was highly amused at the attempts to kill him, and made cracks about how 'Red Haired' Shanks could hit harder even when half drunk. Hawkeye, still dueling Vista, attested to that. Once Whitebeard got bored, he leapt up for one last decisive punch to take Wolf down.

The rest of them were basically swarmed over. A lesson had to be taught after all.

Repeatedly.

Only when it was over did the bandits, revolutionaries, and pirates realize that the marines had all skedaddled and they were left with an empty island to plunder, vandalize, and otherwise desecrate.

Good times, good times.

. . . Except that Dadan was more interested in dragging her _oldest_ , errant son back to the ships so that she did not lose sight of him again, and swamped all of Marineford in a tidal wave made up of her three boys again.

The pirates knew better than to complain.

(Hawkeye got bored and tagged along for the fun of it, and no one was in the mood to tell him otherwise.)

 **-0-0-0-**

"So who is third figure of water?" Ivankov asked Dagra during the party they were all celebrating later. Loudly.

It had seemed strangely familiar, and it was bugging him.

The musicians were playing for all they were worth to drown out the noise Luffy and Hancock were making. Worst of all, they had claimed the main food storage room for themselves, and no one, and I mean _no one_ , was brave enough to disturb them.

"Ah," the smaller man sighed as he hunched over a bit. Taking a large quaff of his drink to settle himself, he sadly explained. "There used to be three of 'em, y'see. Ace, Luffy, and Sabo. Except Sabo died when—"

"A Celestial Dragon visited your island," Ivankov finished as he stared out into the distance, his own brilliant mind connecting details together.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by powerful, little hands grabbing him by his oversized hair to draw him closer. "Explain. Now."

"Blonde hair? Curly? Was in a small ship that a Celestial Dragon fired upon? We picked up a boy like that years ago, except he had amnesia. Off Goa Kingdom I believe."

". . ."

". . ."

"DADAN!"

(One quick explanation later.)

"MAGRA! GET THE LOG POSE OF BALTIGO! NOW!"

"YES DADAN!"

"HOW DO YOU HAVE ONE OF THOSE!?"

"NOT IMPORTANT IVANKOV!"

"IT'S VERY IMPORTANT!"

" **WOULD YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP!? I'M TRYING TO MAKE BABIES WITH LUFFY DOWN HERE!** "

". . . sorry."

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Honestly I admit that Dadan is not the best mom in the world, although still a better parent than a bunch of others we have seen in this series! Still had a lot of fun writing this, especially with Ace trying to wrap his head around the truth X-P**

 **-0-**

 **Please review, and I will get back to you!**


	17. Chapter 17

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has a much more in depth and thought-out version of this sort of story.

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Guest Review answers :-D**

Guest (the two of you. Also please choose name/nickname next time ^^)

I confess that I have received numerous requests for an extension to show the reactions of the ASL Brothers reunion in chapter 16, except that seemed the most 'natural' spot for it to end for me. I may in the future do an expanded version of that chapter as its own story. Glad you still liked it so much though! :-D

The suggestion of her marrying him off to Sabo is new and intriguing though ;-)

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Lana

Yeah, it kind of scares me a little wondering where the chapter 6 one came from! X-P

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope it was worth it! Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

.

Bethany Melancon

Yes I agree. For an author who usually averts actual deaths so much (minus Flashbacks when you already know they will die), Oda did his best to make Ace and Whitebeard's deaths as anguishing as possible! So yes, stories where they live cheer me up too. Including writing them. ;-)

Here is the newest chapter, and lucky you, you get it pretty soon! ;-) Looking forward to hearing your newest thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your Review and Support! :-D

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace Lives

 **-0-0-0-**

"Fleet Admiral! Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"

The man in question glanced back to see a blonde officer racing towards him. Throwing a quick salute, the sweating man quickly rattled off, "We couldn't get ahold of you on the Den-Den Mushi! 'Red-Haired' Shanks and Dragon are both on their way here together!"

" _What!?_ " barked Sengoku, forgetting his irritation at the man's lack of discipline. "Whatever for!?"

"Straw Hat, sir!"

 _That_ threw Sengoku off. He knew that for all of Dragon's utter fury towards the World Government, he kept it carefully leashed by cold calculation. Even for his son, it seemed out of character for him. Moreover, why Red-Hair? He was supposed to be busy fighting Kaido right now!

"Tch! What's Shanks thinking? Luffy's going to be furious if he comes here. _Especially_ if it's to come help. And Dragon chooses now to be a parent to my little brother? Give me a break."

At those words, Sengoku whirled to look down at 'Fire Fist' Ace, who was doing a poor job of hiding how smug he was feeling right now.

Wanting a more reliable source, he turned to Garp next, who know looked coldly furious in the way he was at his most terrifying. "Red Hair," he gritted out. "The one who put Luffy on the path to becoming a pirate! As for Dragon," now he looked conflicted, "I don't know. But I'll bet Red Hair's behind it somehow." He palmed one fist. "Dibs on him. I've got to _repay_ him for what he's done. With interest."

A chill went down Sengoku's spine at this confirmation, realizing how significantly they underestimated the already-migraine inducing rookie. _What next? A favourite uncle that Garp forgot to mention!?_

Regardless, two of the most dangerous men in the world were on their way to support Straw Hat, doubtless bringing their formidable forces along with them.

Rapidly Sengoku went through his options.

Straw Hat was now as pivotal to this entire war as his adoptive brother was. Unfortunately, most of the Whitebeard Division Commanders were already converging upon him as he led the charge, while Jinbe and Ivankov were already fighting alongside him.

 _We'll have to capture him to use him as leverage._

 _Unfortunately, the vice-admirals are too busy keeping back Whitebeard's allies on the shore, so they're unavailable. Ergo it'll take the Admirals to pry him out, except then they'll be too exposed to Whitebeard himself, even if age has slowed him down. I can't risk using the Containment Wall as we planned, since the pirates aren't deep enough into the bay yet, nor the Pacifista properly positioned to flank them. Not to mention how too many of our own men are still in there to evacuate them in time. Send in Garp to do it? Noooo, bad idea. I can't trust him to go through with it. If he hesitates, it'll just make it worse._

In the name of Justice, Sengoku would willingly sacrifice all of those brave soldiers; except it had to _actually_ benefit Justice. If they slaughtered that many elite marines within the enclosure wall, and fail to kill enough of the Whitebeard Pirates who would continue to fight and inflict further casualties, then the Navy would be weakened enough for Big Mom and/or Kaido to deem them vulnerable. It would be a pointless loss of life that would lead to greater suffering.

Within a split second the Fleet Admiral finished his evaluation, and knew what he would have to do. It was a gamble, a big one, but the only one that might pull it off. "Cut the Den-Den Mushi's, and recall Vice-Admiral Tsuru!" he loudly commanded. While the 'Great Staff Officer' may not be the monster she once was any more, her brain was as sharp as ever, and they needed her safely back here to help the marines regain control of the situation. Even someone like Akainu would stop to follow her 'advice.'

"Garp," Sengoku softly ordered, yet old friend/headache still stood up and stiffened to attention. "We're going after Whitebeard ourselves. Once he's engaged, the Admirals are to acquire Straw Hat."

Three old legends past their prime. They would kill Whitebeard or die trying. Together, he and Garp were a powerful team, and maybe, just maybe, they could pull it off. One last time.

He knew that even if they pulled this off, Tsuru would verbally flay him alive in that dry, flat voice of hers. It was nothing more than him gambling that the marines could bring enough overwhelming and concentrated firepower down upon two single spots quickly enough so that they could nab Straw Hat before they found themselves overextended and overwhelmed. It was risky and unprofessional, but he knew that they had to take bold action to reclaim the initiative if they were going to resume their painstakingly calculated plan of battle.

Instead of his usual bloodthirsty grin, Garp gave a solemn nod before taking off, the Admirals following in his wake. The Fleet Admiral would be right behind them.

Glancing over his shoulder to give final instruction before facing Whitebeard, about keeping an eye on 'Fire Fist,' the Buddha froze. Relaxing, he stuffed his hands back in his pockets. "Well played. Well played indeed."

The marine was unperturbed, his only response being a shocking disregard for military etiquette when facing the Fleet Admiral, as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Taking a puff, his eyes had never left Sengoku's.

"Why thank you," evenly said 'Blackfoot' Sanji.

 **-0-0-0-**

Days Ago

Rayleigh and Shakky had been caught between sympathy for the Straw Hats, and kicking them out as they paced around Shakky's Rip-Off Bar with a growing dark rage and fear.

Those weird Kuma copies, the real Kuma, and an admiral had all attacked them a few hours ago. If not for Shakky choosing to help bail out her husband, they may have been overwhelmed. To the crew's despair however, Kuma had slapped Luffy away in the same manner Nami said he had done to Perona on Thriller Bark. If not for the older pirates' interference, all of them may have been shocked.

Rayleigh confided that Kuma had secretly claimed he was part of the Revolutionary Army, and suspected he had helped Luffy escape as a favour to his father, Monkey D. Dragon.

Then they saw the newspaper about Ace's execution.

About Luffy's _big brother's_ execution.

"Luffy will be at Marineford," announced Zoro.

"No question," groaned Usopp.

"Hate to agree."

"Uh huh."

"Yeah."

"Luffy has a brother?"

"What's his bro like?"

"Fire Fist? How very interesting."

"You're taking this rather calmly," remarked Rayleigh with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, that's just the deep repression of our outright terror," Usopp calmly replied, waving his hand dismissively.

"Who's afraid?" grumbled Zoro.

"You're practically shaking," said Sanji, grabbing a cigarette.

"Definite terror," Nami blankly agreed.

"Uh huh."

"Yeah."

"Not Super."

"Oh dear."

"Definitely interesting."

After the last bit, Robin pointed out one flaw in their logic. "It's possible Luffy will break his brother out of Impel Down before they take him to Marineford."

"Possible," admitted Zoro. "But he's not sneaky enough to do it without getting found out. If they think he's actually got a chance, they'll move his brother out early, and Luffy'll follow him to Marinford anyways."

"Uhm, you know that Kuma could've sent Straw Hat to the other side of the world, right?" Rayleigh awkwardly reminded them.

"Won't make a difference," Zoro proclaimed with finality. "He'll be there."

"Yep."

"Logic won't make any difference."

"No siree."

"Uh huh."

"SUPER!"

"Yo ho ho ho~!"

"Fu fu fu fu."

"Right!" Zoro stood up. "Nami, we'll need a course. Franky, Usopp, get the _Thousand Sunny_ ready to set sail."

"Before we do anything, we need a plan."

Grimacing, Zoro nodded. As much as he wanted to just charge in cutting down whoever or whatever got in his way, he knew she was right. "Alright then, let's start brainstorming."

"Well you certainly can't just sail up to Navy HQ," Rayleigh lightly warned them. His wife was no help since she seemed to be enjoying the show. Of course, neither of them really wanted these young kids to go get killed like that. "They'll blow you out of the water."

"He's right," acknowledged Nami. "So how are we going to do this?"

"Well, it's not like there's a fleet we can bring in to help," grunted Franky.

"If my eight thousand warriors were available," started Usopp, before tapering off in dismay.

Silence fell as everyone tried and failed to think of anything.

"It's quite the surprise to learn that Luffy's brother is an Emperor's officer," commented Brook, aiming to take their minds, however briefly, off the odds against them. "What is the rest of his family like? What?"

Every other Straw Hat's eyes were fixated on him with a fearsome intensity.

". . . Luffy's father is the leader of the Revolutionary Army," explained Robin. "Surely he will come to rescue his older son?"

"Is he really the kind of guy to do that though?" asked Franky.

"We don't know," bit out Nami in frustration. "Urgh! Why can't Whitebeard and Dragon just level the place before Luffy gets there!?"

A second later it all clicked together for them.

"Unlesssss," Zoro mused out, unusually on the ball for this kind of intrigue. "Unless, we can make them _think_ he's coming!"

"And Shanks too!" gushed Nami.

"Huh, now that's an idea," mused a very intrigued Rayleigh. "You won't be able to fool them forever. So what happens next?"

"Yeah, we still don't know how we'll sneak up on them," Usopp awkwardly agreed. "Or how we'll run away after!"

Turning to Shakky, Franky grimly said, "I need some materials and cola. _Lots_ of cola."

 **-0-0-0-**

Because the execution for 'Fire Fist' was to happen before the bay of Marineford, and everyone knew this was more about Whitebeard's pride than military logistics, the Navy has sensibly positioned the majority of its forces by the Execution Scaffold to meet him there. Whitebeard was incapable of responding in any way other than figuratively marching up to the front door to kick it down.

A small force was still on watch around the rest of the island of course, just in case any surprises showed up.

Understandably, they were also pretty distracted by the sight of Whitebeard unleashing tsunamis upon the island, which were visibly frozen solid even from where they were stationed.

Letting themselves be distracted was their second mistake.

Their _first_ was never stopping to consider that there may actually be people out there stupid or desperate enough to do what came next.

. . . Or . . .

People who were simply Crazy Awesome enough to Dare the Impossible.

A ship with the figurehead of either a lion or a dandelion crashed down in the water squarely at the opposite side of Marineford from where Whitebeard's forces were already pouring out of their ships. The stunned guards could only gape before realizing their superiors had overlooked a certain pirate crew.

Wings of arms guiding her down from jumping mid-air from the ship, Robin carried the ultra-light Brook in her arms while he played a song to put all within earshot to sleep. Arms sprouted out elsewhere to snap the necks of whoever resisted it, and eyes and ears appeared within the walls to spot everyone else.

The majority of them were only regular troops, along with the odd captain, as the cream of the crop were stationed by the bay. Only a single rear admiral was in charge of this position. He was too strong for her, yet he was too surprised and angry at the surprise attack to remember to call for help, which was just as good. It bought enough time for Zoro and Sanji to leap ashore from the _Thousand Sunny_ and quickly overwhelmed the man.

Proving once again that they could work together if the need was sufficient.

Rear-admiral dispatched, most of the Straw Hats kept watch, while a select few prepared themselves. Sanji started searching for a uniform in his size. Usopp grabbed his satchel and checked his gear for the umpteenth time. Chopper was preparing his medical equipment, as he was staying safely here to help the injured; while he was a tough fighter, Rayleigh had emphasized that Ace would likely need emergency treatment after his time in Impel Down. Meanwhile Nami was keeping her ear to the Black Den-Den Mushi Rayleigh had grabbed for them to intercept calls, as well as the marine issue one he had stolen for them from the Navy base on Sabaody. They had also proven useful for timing their arrival for when the Navy would be the most distracted. Surprisingly, there was no mention of Luffy yet, even if they knew it was only a matter of time.

As for Franky, he was checking the massive cola-powered jet engines he had strapped on top of his masterpiece. These bulky additions let the ship fly _twenty_ kilometers in a single launch!

Now he had to make a few more adjustments . . .

 **-0-0-0-**

While the sight of Luffy and a Navy warship falling out of the sky stunned everybody else, the Straw Hats were barely phased. Of _course_ he would do something as ridiculous as that.

(It was a lot easier to be calm about it when they were not the ones falling alongside him. They also sent a prayer to those poor suckers being dragged along into his latest mess.)

 **-0-0-0-**

While he was sweating from all his running from one end of the island to the other, Sanji felt weirdly calm as he raced up to the Fleet Admiral of the Navy. The man who commanded all the seemingly endless numbers of marines, including both the Admirals and Warlord.

It was a dead calmness, as everything was shoved deep down inside of him where it could not possibly interfere with saving his beloved Captain. His nakama.

An _idiot_ who had indeed broken in and out of Impel Down –two impossible feats right there, although the Straw Hats liked to claim that was an average Tuesday— and even managed to recruit some helping hands. Crocodile and Jinbe of all people; the Warlord who had made Vivi cry –they should have executed him for that alone!— and the one who had sent Arlong to the East Blue to make Nami's life miserable.

Yep, when this was all over they would be having a looooong talk with Luffy. Mostly so long because the rubbery-black hole would probably keep being obtuse, laughing, distracted, or fail to see what the problem was and make Sanji want to beat his head open against a wall.

He was rather looking forward to it.

"Fleet Admiral! Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" The man in question spared him a glance.

Throwing a quick salute, the motion let Sanji catch the briefest image of Ace stiffening as he looked back as well. Hopefully Luffy's more competent brother would hide his recognition.

 _Can't believe I'm actually_ grateful _for that terrible, awful bounty poster now_ , he thought with a touch of forlorn resignation. However, thanks to that _completely inaccurate_ picture, Ace was (hopefully) the only one who could identify him. To be extra safe, Sanji wore the bill of his cap tilted down low enough to help hide his distinctive eyebrows.

"We couldn't get ahold of you on the Den-Den Mushi!" he brazenly lied. He knew only a full-out bluff while pretending that he _deserved_ to be here could sell it. 'Red-Haired' Shanks and Dragon are both on their way here together!"

" _What!?_ " barked Sengoku. "Whatever for!?"

"Straw Hat, sir!"

This was the biggest part of the gamble. Deliberately making Luffy a priority target so as to draw the enemy away from Ace. Their Captain would approve of course, yet that did not make him feel any better.

"Tch! What's Shanks thinking? Luffy's going to be furious if he comes here," said Ace, playing along. Turns out that unlike his brother, he could actually tell a lie. Or at least sell the truth in a misleading way. " _Especially_ if it's to come help. And Dragon chooses now to be a parent to my little brother? Give me a break."

Now Sengoku turned to look for answers from the biggest threat to the whole plan.

Garp's presence had nearly made Sanji hesitate, since the lunatic (who reminded him of a more extreme Zeff when training) had met him before. Or rather, Sanji had been part of the crowd of Luffy's crew when the old coot had busted into where they were staying on Water 7. It was unclear how well he would have remembered Sanji and the others when his focus was on his criminal grandson. Not to mention wearing a black suit as opposed to this current tacky brown one, with a white marine coat on top. Even so, he was grateful for the hat, and that he had deepened his voice a little.

Nevertheless, for a moment that furious expression made Sanji fear he had been discovered. Thankfully that rage was addressed elsewhere. "Red Hair," Garp gritted out. "The one who put Luffy on the path to becoming a pirate! As for Dragon," now he looked conflicted, "I don't know. But I'll bet Red Hair's behind it somehow." He palmed one fist. "Dibs on him. I've got to _repay_ him for what he's done. With interest."

Trying to hide his relief, Sanji flicked a glance back to Sengoku, the man obviously assessing the battlefield, and it was humbling to see the lightning calculations going on behind that firm gaze. It was almost enough to make him imagine he that flash of concern he had caught, or the beads of sweat slowly breaking out. Regardless, he was clearly probing the smallest details while tactics and strategies sparked through his brain before coming to his decision surprisingly quick. "Cut the Den-Den Mushi's, and recall Vice-Admiral Tsuru!" Sengoku loudly commanded. "Garp," he softly said next. "We're going after Whitebeard ourselves. Once he's engaged, the Admirals are to acquire Straw Hat."

Seeming to share a moment with his fellow veteran marine, Garp then took off, the Admirals following right behind him. Sengoku turned to Sanji as if to say something, before freezing. Recognition lighting up his expression.

 _Oh. No._

Relaxing, the Fleet Admiral stuffed his hands back in his pockets. "Well played. Well played indeed."

Without emotion, Sanji swore within his head.

Acting calm himself, he pulled out what may well be his last cigarette and lit it. Taking a puff, his eyes had never left Sengoku's.

"Why thank you," Sanji evenly said.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Can't blame a guy for trying," Blackfoot casually continued.

"No, but I can execute them," Sengoku rejoined, as he realized what had clued him in. _That eyebrow. I almost missed them with that hat on. Gracious that bounty poster of his is inaccurate, but I'm glad I still caught it. He's definitely a Vinsmoke, no doubt about it. Best if he dies here then._

Then he registered the other hint that had cued him into something being wrong: his haki was detecting five people upon the scaffold besides himself, and including the two executioners, except he could only see _four_.

'Fire Fist' Ace's sea-prism handcuffs fell off, just as 'Cat Burglar' Nami's mirage faded, revealing her and her lockpick. "Oops," she nervously giggled.

 **-0-0-0-**

Grimly, 'Demon Child' Nico Robin entered the office of Admiral Sakazuki, the 'Akainu.'

It was neat and immaculate, with the sole adornment being the bold kanji for "Thorough Justice" written in skillful calligraphy upon a white banner on a wall to the side.

The skeleton crew of guards lay dead at her feet, and the door was unlocked.

 _After all, who would be so foolish as to break in_? she darkly thought. _Any other day, there would be dozens of squads all over the place, with high ranking officers coming and going. But not today, when every available soldier is desperately needed elsewhere._

Security was not totally lapsed of course, the possibility of an incursion had obviously been contemplated, and measures taken. Yet the majority of it was focused upon ensuring that the fortress' defenses were maintained for the battle being waged outside. There were no incriminating and/or classified papers lying around either, given the anticipation of the execution, and being a basic policy to maintain secrets.

No, what Robin was after was here for something that was so recklessly dangerous and arguably insane, that her Captain was going to be ever so proud of her.

 **-0-0-0-**

In a burst of flames, Ace made Sengoku take a small leap back.

Scowling, the man shrugged off his coat as he realized he would have to deal with this himself. He allowed himself a few extra seconds to drag the process out though, as the outcome was inevitable. Besides, letting his men see how calm and collected he was would reassure them. Crushing Fire Fist would only take a minute or so, and the Straw Hats were beneath consideration at their level. Then he could turn his attention to regaining control of the battlefield. Doubtless Whitebeard would try and take advantage of Fire Fist's freedom, except he was still too far away.

In a burst of Observation Haki, he jumped from the platform as flying cuts disintegrated it from below.

With a yelp, Ace found himself tackled by Sanji _while he was still on fire_ , down to the ground. The chef ignored the heat, while Nami was safely tucked under his other arm. Kicking off some falling debris, they landed on the ground next to Zoro, who was also disguised as a marine.

"Right, time to run," ordered the swordsman, before leading by example. Briefly Ace hesitated, before following along. He had to keep his little brother's crew alive.

Of course, way back in Alabasta, he had asked them to take of Luffy because he had been under the hilarious assumption that they were more responsible and _sane_ than their Captain!

Honestly, what kind of lunatics devised a plan that hinged on lying to the _Fleet Admiral's_ face!?

All mental hints he might be having hypocritical thoughts were stuffed away to the corner of his mind where he stored other such nonsense like the importance of vegetables, or that gramps could be right about something.

Grimacing, Sengoku touched down on the pavement, casting the briefest glimpse at the pirates making their futile escape attempt. They were literally surrounded by an army, with their allies too far away.

He was more than half-tempted to give chase after them, except he had already embarrassed himself already. Duty demanded that he crush 'Black Foot' the moment he knew something was wrong, instead of playing around like that. Precious seconds had been wasted, and he needed to recall Garp and the Admirals before their retreats were cut off. His subordinates could handle Fire Fist and the rest of the scum.

Oh, granted, Roger's spawn would be difficult for them, yet there were enough Seastone weapons around to do the job. Moreover, his companions were vulnerable and outclassed, and could serve as appropriate leverage.

 _If all else fails, they only need to stall them until Aokiji and the others return. The final outcome's inevitable_ , he knew with grim certainty, preparing to give new commands.

 **-0-0-0-**

 _I don't want to do this_ , Robin confessed to herself. Yet her hands never faltered as they finished their work.

Resolve like steel kept her in motion, knowing that her Crew, her _Family_ , were depending upon her, and that as good a thief as Nami was, she did not have the skills for this kind of infiltration while assassinating all of the security.

 _To think this would be my fate, after everything I've endured._

The security box was open, and within, along with a capsule of air to keep it alive, was Akainu's personal Golden Den-Den Mushi.

For any normal person, what she was about to do would be too traumatizing to even contemplate.

For a Straw Hat, there was no hesitation as she pushed the button and ran for her life.

 **-0-0-0-**

A hauntingly familiar tone of sirens screamed, and Fire Fist was forgotten as Sengoku went sheet-white as he recognized the horrifying truth.

The sound of a Silver Den-Den Mushi.

A call to arms for an order that could not be rescinded, and overruled all other decrees as inconsequential.

Summoned forth by the last survivor of Ohara.

A Buster Call.

 **-0-0-0-**

While Ace was unfamiliar with the wailing sound, he _did_ notice how all of a sudden the marines were all distracted. With a growing number of expressions displaying dawning comprehension, followed by sheer terror. Not to mention how his brother's crewmates were impossibly even tenser.

With a sinking feeling he knew this would be like one of those conversations with Luffy, where every question to find out _what happened_ , would be like pulling teeth, and each tooth you yanked out would bite you somewhere unpleasant. Leaving you both regretting you had asked, if also relieved you were at least informed about the oncoming disaster that was following behind.

Like that incident with the pack of wolves, bee hives, grouchy bears, and glitter paint (not even Makino had figured out where Luffy had gotten _that_ ).

"Here we go," muttered Nami.

"No stopping it now," agreed Zoro through the hilt clenched in his teeth.

"Yep, it's a race," grunted Sanji. "Hope Robin and Usopp get out okay. Now we just need to get to Luffy before he gets killed."

". . . What did you do?" Ace hesitantly asked.

 **-0-0-0-**

None of this would have been possible without Bartholomew Kuma.

Period.

Thankfully he had popped up at Shakky's Rip-off Bar to explain what had happened to Luffy. While he had been skeptical that their Captain would make it to Marineford, he _had_ been willing to give a detailed account of the defenses there, and how he felt the inhabitants would react. Including a rather detailed description of a certain new weapon of the Navy's . . .

 **-0-0-0-**

In one smooth act, all Pacifista turned to face the Navy HQ, and opened fire as they advanced, ignoring the pirates.

A Buster Call had been sounded.

Target: Marineford.

Local inhabitants: On file to be efficiently eliminated.

Not even the Fleet Admiral had the authorization to overrule it.

 **-0-0-0-**

A Buster Call was merciless and unquestioning, and every marine was duty bound to purge the island of every building and life upon it. The Pacifistas' cybernetic brains were already following that directive.

(Just as Kuma had said they would.)

However, the marines present here today were not as a whole morons.

Obviously there was something suspicious about a Buster Call being brought to bear upon Marine HQ _in the middle of a war_.

To say nothing of how they were dealing with Edward-destroys-warships-with-a-flick-of-his-finger-Newgate. Clearly he was a bigger priority.

The most this should have amounted for with the regular marines was a minute or so of confusion, and nothing more. Maybe less if the top officers got their acts together fast enough.

To turn around and destroy their own island in this case was the utter height of stupidity.

Except . . .

Unfortunately . . .

The admirals were busy fighting against Whitebeard's own elites, and the vice-admirals were pinned down against the Emperor's allies. Leaving it solely to Sengoku.

Initiative and independent thought were hardly encouraged by the World Government. Moreover, they had done the same to Enies Lobby not too long ago, so doing it here was not really all that much of a stretch. Just a few weeks ago maximum really. Plus, there are always those people who are too obedient and unimaginative for anyone's good.

In addition, there were more than a few soldiers who were embittered towards the higher-ups who kept sending them out on dangerous missions, while they stayed safe and snug back home in the comfy HQ; completely forgetting what it was like for those on the front lines. _Especially_ what it was like on the front lines when your so-called superiors were perfectly –if not _eagerly_ , some would whisper— willing to sacrifice entire ships for the slightest advantage. Like killing a thousand marines in friendly fire at Enies Lobby, in a failed attempt to kill 'Straw Hat' Luffy. Many of them had had _friends_ on that ship. So yes, they were quite happy to leap at the excuse to make the brass miserable. To be able to do so while following _legal orders_?

Priceless.

Sometimes, it really only does take a few idiots and opportunists in a crowd to make Human Stupidity contagious.

So it came to be that gun emplacements across the shore turned upon the towering building, and cannons on the surrounding ships took aim, and began to fire. Only a few at first, yet the sight of seeing their comrades doing it, prompted more and more to follow suit, all while too many of those with the authority to stop it in time were paralyzed by indecision. All the while Sengoku screamed at them to stop.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Ursus Shock."

A bomb of pure vacuum exploded within the crowd of packed marines in the plaza. The sheer pressure wave of it killing, maiming, and otherwise throwing everyone around. Even rear-admirals were badly hurt.

Within the blink of an eye, Bartholomew Kuma, PX-0, appeared upon the other side of the massive crowd, too fast for even Sengoku to catch sight of. The mindless cyborg was already compressing air once more.

Worst of all, before his fatal and final surgery, Kuma had made a slight recommendation of Vegapunk. That in the event of a Buster Call being sounded, his first target would be the island's communications, so that their high command could not properly coordinate their troops. The trusting scientist had seen no reason to refuse.

Now the Fleet Admiral's orders were being lost in the growing noise and confusion.

The true tragedy here is that the mastermind who made all of this possible was not here to see it all come to fruition. Never in a hundred years did he ever imagine he would be able to strike such a blow against his enemies.

Both Dragon and Ivankov would be owing him some drinks at the bar in the next life!

(The fact he did not like alcohol did not matter, he was still making his boss and goofy friend fork over the non-existent cash.)

 **-0-0-0-**

While Hawkeye and Hancock merely looked on in contempt, Doflamingo leapt at the chance to be a law-abiding citizen and kill marines in large numbers. After all, obviously it was the right thing to do if Kuma was doing it, _right?_ Besides, he had enough dirt on the Celestial Dragons that they would have to play along.

Emboldened by the sight, and assuming he was equally in the clear, Moriah joined in too, cackling all the way.

 **-0-0-0-**

Unbeknownst to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who frankly had enough on his mind right now, not all of the Den-Den Mushi had been disconnected in time.

Buggy had gotten his hands on one, and was currently broadcasting it to the pale, shaking eyewitnesses and reporters on the Sabaody Archipelago. Reporters who were gasping out into their own Den-Den Mushi to their superiors back home, the nightmare playing out before them.

 **-0-0-0-**

The sole consolation for Sengoku was that his earlier orders had kept Straw Hat and Whitebeard and their allies from realizing Ace was free. They were all too busy handling Garp and the admirals to notice their objective in this entire war was already running around throwing fists of flames.

Even those who had caught a glimpse of the prominent Execution Scaffold being destroyed were assuming the Fleet Admiral was responsible. After all, how could Ace have escaped on his own?

Nonetheless, while the Whitebeard Division Commanders were not exactly sure of what had happened, they got the gist. More importantly, the admirals were suddenly distracted by the sight of their own forces seemingly turning upon each other. In light of that, the particulars were not important, especially as the Ultimate Powers of the World Government suddenly became the _Distracted_ Powers of the World Government.

"Press them!" roared Marco, as he made a particularly nasty kick to Akainu who was trying to create a large wave of lava. "Don't let 'em retreat—yoi!"

Jozu broke through another half-completed wall of ice to land another hit onto Aokiji, stopping him from by freezing everything and everyone. Izo and Curiel fired more haki-empowered rounds to keep him unbalanced.

The pirates and Ivankov rushed forward with reckless aggression, hemming in the admirals who were uncomfortably aware they had overextended themselves.

 **-0-0-0-**

Once more, intellectually, the average Navy man (and this can be taken as proof that maybe more women sailors would have been beneficial) understood what a Buster Call signified. Most of them who stopped to think about it also realized it was likely a trick. _Un_ fortunately, that did not change the fact that suddenly their own ships, fortifications, and supposed allies had turned upon them. So they did what any person would do during the heat of combat when under attack: they shot back.

Island fortifications fired back on warships bombarding the island, which made even those gunners who were smart enough to not bombard HQ, now reflexively retaliate in turn, intensifying the situation. Soldiers shot at the Pacifistas and other Warlords, which provoked Hawkeye and Hancock into action as well. As the heat and haze of battle grew, more and more of the Navy turned upon each other.

"This is madness," whispered Commodore Smoker, cigars hanging limply in his mouth. Grimacing, he and Tashigi tried to establish an area of calm, including him slapping any marine firing at anything or anyone resembling their own (or the Warlords, although that was more for the sake of keeping said idiot soldier alive). He knew he could not stop this; the most he could hope for was saving as many as he could.

 **-0-0-0-**

The building shuddered and burned around her as Robin ran for her life down the hallways.

Rounding a corner, she saw Usopp, fearful but stalwart, waiting for her along with a gigantic elastic band bolted into the walls. Without stopping to speak, she slid along the floor and popped up beside him just as he released them.

Like a slingshot (or travelling with their Captain) they flew through the air with Usopp screaming as they sailed out of the collapsing building and over the town and then the water. Wings of limbs sprouted from her back to glide them down to the _Sunny_. Even before they landed, more arms appeared on the deck to grab and secure them, while another hand appeared beside a waiting Franky to flash him a thumb's up.

His arm blurred on the lever, and the ship was rocketing through the air.

 **-0-0-0-**

The image of Gekko Moriah being gunned down by a sustained barrage by marines from all sides, was one of the many scenes the Den-Den Mushi Buggy had grabbed was broadcasting.

Video-feed of the entire catastrophe continued to play out before the reporters on Sabaody, and more than one of them had collapsed sobbing to their knees.

It was the end of the world.

 **-0-0-0-**

"YOU PLANNED THIS!?" screamed Ace with a confusing mixture of anger, frustration, genuine fear (which he would deny), and jealously (which he would also deny, while planning a way to top this).

"It was the only way!" cried Nami, staying close as she could to the center of the three guys, setting off thundercloud after frantic thundercloud as they continued to run for their lives.

Zoro and Sanji were lashing out with sword and foot to the sides, as Ace continued to clear a blazing path. Many of the marines continued to try and stop them, yet confusion was rampant while Sengoku was trying to regain control of the situation. Kuma continued to appear and disappear, unleashing concussive death upon the marines in a way the Straw Hats were all too familiar with.

"If we die, we die knowing we tried our best!" snarled Zoro.

"And die alongside our Captain," grunted out Sanji, feet clashing against the fists of Commodore.

"It's official," snapped Ace, even as he raced even faster to freedom. "You're all as stupidly reckless as Luffy."

"Thank you!"

"It wasn't a compliment!"

"Huh," Zoro's grin widened. "Why do I get the feeling you're just the same?"

"Shut it!"

Flames roaring free after too long, even as his fists and feet struck in blurs, a part of Ace distantly wondered: _Did Luffy chose them because they were like him, or is his madness contagious?_

He tried not to think what that said about himself, Luffy's chosen family.

 **-0-0-0-**

With a grimace, Garp broke away from Whitebeard, gritting his teeth in pain as he felt the inevitable shockwave hit his back. Hitting a man like that may be dishonourable usually, yet turning your back on someone like Whitebeard, especially in a situation like this, was to be treated as an open request for assisted suicide. So a helpful man would oblige.

 _Not good_ , he knew. Damage like that would cost him, although he would pay the price to save the Navy from itself. _Now I know what my gut was trying to warn me about, but I was too distracted by Ace! And Luffy._

With a roar he barreled through the Whitebeard Commanders – _coincidentally_ passing just out of reach of his _idiot_ grandson— which gave the admirals the chance to safely retreat. Knowing their duty they said nothing –well, that punk Kuzan was acting out of duty, the other two were just rude— as they raced at full speed back to the center to try and regain order before they were all swamped.

Following behind as fast as he could, Garp caught sight of Doflamingo cutting a marine Giant to ribbons.

So he pulped the laughing man's head with his fist.

Good to know _something_ good came from all this!

 **-0-0-0-**

Grunting, Whitebeard began his own slow advance over the ice, hoarding his strength until it was needed most. For now though he needed to figure out what insanity had infected the Navy.

Here he was, _Whitebeard_ , and the marines were choosing to fight each other instead!? It was insulting!

Not that he was going to look the gift horse in the mouth. Sure, Aokiji, Kizaru, and Akainu were racing back to the safety of their own lines, yet he could handle them later. A quick call on his Den-Den Mushi confirmed that Squard was still alive, and he gave his son orders to lead the rest of his allies in pressing hard against their foe on that flank.

It was then that he finally caught sight of how Ace was no longer shackled to the execution scaffold –and indeed the whole platform was missing— and that bursts of _familiar_ fire were appearing within the Navy's rear. As if _someone_ was fighting his way through them.

"ACE IS FREE!" he roared. "EVERYONE PUT YOUR LIVES ON THE LINES AND MAKE YOUR WAY TO HIM!"

Despite these bold words that all his sons were cheering too, he took the time to make another call to Squard to prepare for a retreat. Once they got what they were here for, they needed to leave. He also stopped a few more of his children who were running by –they were near the rear of the army here—and told them to start making their way back to. After all, getting the wounded back to the ship was an important job!

He considered calling back even more, except the Navy remained far from defanged. He was experienced enough to know the old saying about wounded beasts being the most dangerous was held more than a few kernel of truth to it.

 _We're so close Ace,_ he proudly knew. _The end's in sight!_

 **-0-0-0-**

Admiral Kizaru was moving at his customary light-speed, outstretching his colleagues. Unfortunately, he was still reacting to the situation so much that he did not pay close enough attention to where he was going.

'Hawkeye' Mihawk had decided that enough was enough, and he was going home. At a leisurely stroll he headed towards his boat was moored, mowing down anyone moronic enough to come close to him. As entertaining as it was to see the Three Powers collapsing around each other, this was not why he had come here today.

Nevertheless, when his haki picked up who would be coming near him, he reacted before sensing if they were planning to stop or keep going.

The Navy had gone insane, and he would not take any chances with one of the few people able to actually threaten him. Moreover, he had honoured the terms of their agreement with him as one of their Warlords, and _they_ were the ones to break faith with it, so fair was fair.

A flying slash brought Kizaru to sudden halt as blood burst out of his chest, staining his bright yellow suit. Undaunted, his finger fired several lasers which Hawkeye dodged as he closed in.

The time for words was well past.

Black Blade met Blade of Light, as they clashed, two masters locked in a dance only one would walk away from.

 **-0-0-0-**

With a shudder, the _Thousand Sunny_ hit the water. Even as the spray started to fall they were in motion, as freshly installed paddlewheels were already automatically turning the ship around for a new heading.

Once more the enhanced Coup de Burst fired.

 **-0-0-0-**

Fleet Admiral Sengoku took no satisfaction in crushing the skull of PX-0, putting it out of commission. He dashed to a new vantage point atop the wall to take in the situation.

Good news: Tsuru was almost here, and had even managed to settle people down on her way. A few other officers in the bay and plaza were definitely getting promotions after this madness, as they were also regained pockets of order, as were a few other places. Even better, two of his admirals were nearly back with them. Given a few more minutes, they could regain cohesion and coordination.

Bad news: they did not _have_ a few minutes! Many of his men were already down, and were too scattered and shaken. The vice-admirals were giving it their all to hold the shore, especially since the Pacifistas were not engaging the pirates as planned. The Giants were down and/or dead from friendly fire, the ships were either sinking or still bombarding the island, and his men were on the edge of breaking. The Whitebeard Pirates were pressing hard into their demoralized ranks, and Whitebeard was right behind the enemy vanguard, knowing he had to press home the advantage.

 _We can't even use the Containment Wall yet because Akainu's out of position. And where's Fire Fist!?_

 _Oh, over there. Burning down a rear-admiral. Wonderful._

 **-0-0-0-**

Luffy did not really know what was going on.

On the other hand, contrary to what Ivankov thought as he kept blurting out stunned observations, with Jinbe and the rest contributing, he did not really need to know.

The marines were being beaten back under his fists, and Ace was ahead of them. He was no longer visible on the scaffold, yet Luffy knew where he was, even if his brother was no longer in sight. Or rather, he knew Ace was beside some familiar presence he could not quite figure out. But again, he really did not need to know the little details.

All he knew was that his crew were up ahead.

Of course. Where else would they be?

Oh, and it looked like Jinbe agreed, saying something about Ace's haki being where Luffy was already heading. Well, where else would he be? Honestly! And people called _him_ slow in the head!

 **-0-0-0-**

The sheer number of marines, the best of the best were now wearing the Straw Hats down badly. While the rest of battlefield was pure chaos, those closest saw what was happening and tried to stop them. It was only thanks to Ace that they had survived this long, and _he_ was only lasting as long as he had thanks to the adrenaline he was on. They were close to reaching the bay, except at this rate one of his baby brother's crew was going to get seriously hurt, and Luffy would never forgive him. Even worse, the longer they took, the greater the odds that someone dangerous would show up.

"Die, Roger's spawn!" roared a commodore, leading another pack leaping at them.

At that moment someone Dangerous _did_ show up.

"You traitorous men!" shrieked Boa Hancock as she cut a whirling path with spinning legs through the marines, passing by right in front of them. Marines fell like wheat before the scythe before her fury, petrifying them, or leaving crippling injuries.

In a blur she continued past Ace and Co., yet not before he caught sight of her sending him a conspiring wink. Clearly she was playing it up as the 'injured party' in this mess, so as to try and maintain her Warlord title afterwards. Smart. Although he would still be asking Pops about extending her their Jolly Roger's protection.

Taking their cue, the pirates took advantage of the sudden open path before them, ducking and weaving through all the bodies as they hurried forward.

"Who was _that_ angel!?" gushed Sanji both metaphorically and literally as blood burst from his nose.

"Hancock, the Pirate Empress," grunted Ace. "Don't suppose you know what her connection with Luffy is?"

A beat, and then Zoro and Nami groaned, while Sanji sobbed. "What has he been up to while we've been gone?" sighed Nami. "He _needs_ adult supervision!"

"Don't worry, there's an even chance she's someone else from his past he forgot to mention," snarked Zoro.

"She's too good for him!" proclaimed Sanji.

"Shut. Up!" hissed Ace, as he belatedly looked around to make sure there was no one close enough to hear them over the noise of the battlefield. All clear. Phew.

With that sorted, the leapt down into the ice-covered bay.

 **-0-0-0-**

By whatever fortunes of fate, Aokiji and Akainu were racing back practically side by side, trailing behind Kizaru. Wordlessly they had passed by their brother officer's duel with Hawkeye because they simply could not waste the time handling such a fearsome pirate; every second literally counted.

Together they landed upon one particularly tall fortification to take in the battlefield. Sengoku was close enough for them to gauge his gestures, and the man gave the only orders he could in such a mess, before turning his attention back to trying to rally together the rest of the Navy.

Both admirals glanced at each other. While privately they might loathe each other, they were both too professional to let it get in the way of their Duty. They were Marines to the core, even if their interpretation of Justice differed.

They knew what they had to do, and both disappeared in another flash.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Hey guys!" waved Luffy cheerfully as he and Jinbe raced up to his brother and crew. "Great to see yah! Is everyone alright?"

"Should be," grunted Zoro, trying to hide his own grin. "We're not out of this yet though, so let's keep running."

"Shishishishishi!"

"You moron," groused Ace. "You shouldn't have come!" Looking at Jinbe, he bowed his head. "Thanks for taking care of my idiot little brother."

"He earned my respect, and I needed to help you," his friend and ship-brother grunted, head swiveling to take in the rest of the battlefield. "Regardless, we really should get back to Whitebeard."

Distantly Nami registered the Fishman's tattoo or brand so similar to what most of the Arlong Pirates had worn. It was irrelevant though, as they were in the middle of a war, and this massive figure was fighting alongside of Luffy. If her Captain had faith in the ex-Warlord, then she would as well. Interrogations could wait for later.

So they all started running.

Despite himself, Jinbe could not help glance in confusion at the Straw Hats until he finally asked what had been bugging him. "Luffy, were you expecting your crew to be here? Why didn't they help with Impel Down?" Because if they could manage _this_ , than surely the prison would have been easier to crack?

"Huh? No, I wasn't. But where else would they be after we got separated?"

Giving a pained groan, Nami muttered, "We know that the best way to find Luffy is to head for the biggest mess, and look for him in the middle of it."

"Well, I'm grateful you're keeping an eye on him," allowed Ace.

 **-0-0-0-**

With a chilling breeze, Aokiji landed before the Whitebeard and Revolutionary armada, and tapped down _deep_ into his power.

A wall of ice manifested, cutting them off most of the enemy force from the heart of Marineford. Almost immediately after it started to shatter as the monsters of the New World unleashed their fury at his defiance. Grimacing he made repairs to the glacier, even as he tried to make it even bigger. Sturdier.

Admiral Kuzan the Aokiji would stand his ground and buy time. Time enough for Sengoku to handle the Buster Call without murderous pirates hounding their heels.

It was insane to think he could keep out people like 'Diamond' Jozu, Marco 'the Phoenix,' or even Emporio Ivankov, with only defensive measures.

To believe even for a moment it could keep out Edward Newgate, a.k.a. Whitebeard, a.k.a. The Strongest in the World, was nothing more than a bad or sad little joke.

 _Especially_ when the absolutely furious criminals all knew they were so close to Ace, and refused to fail after getting this far.

For they were all aware that his barrier only cut off _most_ of the enemy force, with some very particular pirates stuck on the _Navy's_ side.

 **-0-0-0-**

Luffy's big brother and Jinbe both flinched at the same moment, stopping and swiveling to face someone who was now alarmingly alongside them all.

A tall man in a red suit, with a white coat on top. The feeling Luffy was getting from him told him that this man was strong. Strong like Aokiji. Like Kizaru. That he wanted to _kill_ them.

From the corner of his eye he registered the wall of ice that was cutting them off from help.

"Admiral Akainu," gritted out Jinbe.

"Well, here to capture us?" Sanji managed as casually as he could, except a bit of strain leaked through.

"Nope," hissed Luffy.

"Correct," Akainu admitted. "Aokiji is the type of fool to capture you as leverage over Whitebeard, yet it is too late for that. The best the Navy can hope for now is to destroy your accursed bloodlines."

"That a fact?" sneered Ace, flames licking up from his arms and shoulders.

Ace was confident, but Luffy knew that Jinbe was seriously concerned. Ace's friend did not think Ace could win, even with everyone else there. Worse, Luffy knew his stupid brother would never run from a fight.

"Correct," Akainu flatly repeated. "It's almost fitting to complete Whitebeard's failure. He was too pathetic to seek out the One Piece, and now he'll have come all this way to save his son and everyone will know his failure. It was only the actions of a nobody pirate crew that accomplished this, not some has-been."

With every word Ace's body became tenser, and the Straw Hats could see the rage building up inside him.

"Oy!" snapped Zoro. "Keep your head!"

"You shut up about Pops!" snarled Ace, ignoring the swordsman as he drew back a flaming fist to attack.

In that instant, Luffy _knew_ this would end in disaster.

"Sanji!" he screamed. "Kuroobi!"

This meant nothing to Ace, although Jinbe recognized the name of his old crewmate. As for the Straw Hats recruited from the East Blue, they instantly remembered the member of the Fishman Pirates who had fought Sanji and—

Firing with adrenaline, Blackfoot's foot shot up and down faster than ever before, and kicked down Ace's burning fist. The resulting inferno caused a backlash into their faces, making Fire Fist and the Straw Hats all hesitate even as a river of magma erupted towards them.

Luffy had miscalculated how fast an Admiral could move.

Except he had the Knight of the Sea on his side.

Roaring, Jinbe tackled them all—

—into the tunnel through the ice Ace's flames had created.

"Down into the ocean!" barked Luffy.

"Of course!" boomed Jinbe, as they all slid down. Unfortunately the unfocused flames had not reached all the way down, with the solid bottom visibly coming up all too fast. Worse, Akainu was right on their tails.

"Me first!" called out Zoro, all three swords ready.

"No me!" snapped Sanji.

Deftly Jinbe grabbed them both and chucked them all the way to the icy ground. In a flurry of brutal moves they tore their way through to the freezing waters below.

"No wait!" cried Ace as his brain caught up. "We can't just HEY! LUFFY!" The Rubberman was wrapped all over his stupid big brother's head, leaving Jinbe free to look up just in time to see a furious Akainu coming down after them, firing lava projectiles. "This is going to be close," he grunted, already tucking Ace and Luffy under one (relatively) tiny arm to keep the Devil Fruit users from drowning, then nabbing Nami under the other.

 **-0-0-0-**

Amidst smoke and flames, the broken marines were running for the nearest harbor.

The fleet admiral and vice-admirals were doing their best to keep this as orderly as possible. Standing their ground to fight would be foolhardy by now, without their entrenched fortifications and cannons, Warlords, or the Pacifista. To say nothing of the horrendous casualties they had suffered without even meeting Whitebeard himself!

No, they would make a strategic withdrawal and try again another day. So long as the admirals got Fire Fist back, they could pull it off. More importantly, if they _didn't_ get Fire Fist back, they _really_ wanted to be away from here!

In a daze Garp reflexively did what he could to help. Lifting rubble off of the injured, helping marines back to their feet, calling out orders to go at the standard, orderly jog that everyone else was doing instead of running blindly.

Nevertheless, he knew that everything he had built his life around, the Justice he had sacrificed so much for –the pyre he was willing to let his own _grandson_ burn upon!— was lost forever.

Flinching, he stopped to cough out blood into fist. Dazed he stared at it for a moment, accepting how badly Whitebeard had injured him.

No. His body had taken worse.

It was his heart and more importantly his famous D's will that were giving up.

The spilled blood felt like they were all paying their dues.

Bleeding out to satisfy the fanaticism they so graciously spread over years.

The Navy had failed. Fallen.

Despite this, some faltering instinct still made him look up, and take hope. Sailors doing their best even throughout this crisis.

Helmeppo was carrying a catatonic Koby for some reason or other. Despite the blonde boy's obvious fear, he protectively held onto his friend.

Commodore Smoker, the guy who had been credited for beating Crocodile, was barking out orders left and right, and even Rear Admirals were reflexively obeying. Anyone who ran past one of their own who had fallen from his injuries, was slapped up the head and sent back to pick up their comrades.

 _The Spirit of the Navy endures_.

In one smooth motion, Garp ripped off his Navy coat, and placed it around Smoker's shoulders. "Save as many as you can," he serenely commanded before the dumbfounded expressions surrounding him. With those parting words, he charged back into the madness that was once Navy HQ to drag out as many other survivors as he could.

Whoever he could carry, for so long as he could.

To save as many as his old body would let him, to make sure more of the new generation was there to carry on what Justice was supposed to be.

 **-0-0-0-**

The crews on the ships of the Whitebeard Pirates allied armada all jumped as another ship landed right behind them from out of the sky.

Some of them almost attacked, if not for how in the time it took them to turn around they registered the Jolly Roger of Ace's little brother. The one who had been spearheading the entire attack.

"HEY!" roared a large man they recognized from the bounty posters as 'Cyborg' Franky. "WHERE ARE LUFFY AND FIRE FIST AT!?"

On cue, Luffy, Ace, Nami, Sanji, and Zoro all burst out of the water to fly screaming onto the deck of the _Thousand Sunny_.

"NEVER MIND!" Franky corrected, before his brain caught up. "WAIT WHAT!? WHERE'D YOU GUYS COME FROM!?"

"Apologies for coming aboard like this," grunted Jinbe as he jumped out of the ocean to join them. He started in surprise as he recognized the insignia on the flag. "Oh, Straw Hat's ship!? Well met indeed!"

Chopper and Brook were already applying emergency first aid, while Robin approached the stranger. "You are Jinbe the Warlord, yes?"

"Formerly," he corrected with a slight nod of his head. "I changed sides when they were planning to execute Ace."

Groaning, Zoro and Sanji forced themselves up, promising they were alright. "Besides, we've got to get out of here," the first made added.

"Oh right!" gasped Usopp, already racing to finish hitting the quick releases for the enhanced Coup de Burst attachments, which was now exhausted of fuel, with almost everyone else rushing to help. Franky was already spinning the wheel to bring the ship around.

"Undo the sail!" ordered Nami. "No need to use our last Coup de Burst!" Unspoken was the knowledge that if they flew off again with Ace still aboard –and despite being drained by the ocean, Luffy was now wrapped up around the _supposedly_ more responsible brother, so no way was their Captain letting him go— it would seem to an Emperor that his precious son was being abducted. Again.

No thanks. A wall of ships and meat shields would do just as well.

Coughing up water, Ace shakily if firmly brushed Chopper aside as he got up. "Jinbe! What d'you—"

"Never mind that!" barked the Fishamn. "Signal Pops and the others that you're back here!"

Blinking for a moment as he shifted mental gears and processed where he was, and gathered his swiftly restoring strength –his status as a Division Commander did not rest solely on his Devil Fruit— Ace lifted his arms and concentrated. A moment later, the Whitebeard Jolly roger was blazing up in the sky. Seeing the reflection in the glacier, enough sharp-eyed pirates and Revolutionaries turned around to see it, and realized what had happened. Cheering their heads off, they all turned around to race back to the fleet.

They did not know how Ace had gone from being stuck on the Navy's side of the ice wall, to suddenly being all the way back there, but they did not care.

 **-0-0-0-**

It took Aokiji a few precious moments to realize that his barely standing ice wall was no longer being attacked. Panting with exertion, his Observation Haki registered that the enemy was inexplicably retreating.

Massive balls of lava shot overhead, and he knew that Akainu was making one last attempt to kill Whitebeard before it was too late. As the fool had seemingly failed to grab Fire Fist, Aokiji had other priorities. While the bombardment of the island had slackened off, there were still a few Pacifista going around, and the growing inferno that had once been Navy HQ seemed to be spreading.

Grimacing, he was about to go and help when something caught his eye.

 **-0-0-0-**

Boa Hancock felt like humming as she sailed away from Marineford. Alas, the men around her were unworthy of hearing her unearthly beautiful voice.

They were all marines she had charmed and threatened into sailing the now former Navy battleship to Amazon Lily. In its sister ship, her loyal snake-weapon Salome was keeping an eye on the other skeleton crew of loathsome men.

As much as it pained her to admit it, she knew that Elder Nyon had a point that the Kuja were endangered by how Seastone hulls of the Navy which allowed them to cross the Calm Belt to her homeland; their isolationism and local Sea Kings had always been their primary defense. Without the protection offered by her Warlord status, another means was required. So she had acquired two such warships, which would not be put to use as part of a new defense fleet for her people. After this fiasco –which she knew her beloved was responsible for—it would be a _long_ time before the World Government would have the ships to spare in getting past two of their own ships and herself. _Hmm, especially if we start taking more of them home. We'll have to boost the ranks of the Kuja Pirates though. No matter. I'll leave that to Sandersonia and Marigold. Only appropriate as they'll be captains of these new ships. Now the only remaining question is if I should be Admiral of the new Kuja Fleet, or Supreme Admiral? Admiral Empress? Hmmm . . ._

Deep in her deliberations, she ignored the marines around her who she was already planning to dispose of.

 _I wonder what Luffy would suggest?_ she thought with a blush, which only made the men around her all the more infatuated.

 **-0-0-0-**

The balls of lava falling down towards the retreating criminal army were becoming a serious concern. Not only were they death to nearly whomever they fell upon, but they would also melt the ice beneath their feet.

Fortunately, the Whitebeard Division Commanders were not distracted by incoming cannon or musket fire, and were doing what they could. Jozu was grabbing and throwing the rocks aside, Marco was kicking them, Vista was slicing the pieces of lava and adding a flick to send them aside, etc. Even Ivankov was getting involved, enlarged head firing wink after concussive wink to knock the burning rocks aside. Best of all, Whitebeard no longer felt the need to hoard his aging strength, and was lashing out with all his power.

Nonetheless, he was distinctively irritated at this delay to getting to Ace, and the general threat to his sons. Concentrating, he confirmed with his haki and angle of the bombardment that—Oh? Really? Well then.

"Gu ra ra ra ra ra!" he bellowed out, before bringing his fist down on the ice by the rear of the mob of escaping pirates and Revolutionaries, splintering the ice covering the bay behind them. It happened so suddenly that Akainu, who had remained standing by the hole that Roger and Dragon's gets had escaped through, was unable to escape in time before his footing gave out underneath him, and he went tumbling down to the ocean below.

 **-0-0-0-**

When Hawkeye sensed the arrival of another Admiral, he decided his fun was done. Although he might return later for a rematch . . .

So he jumped from crumbling iceberg to iceberg, until he was out of the bay and on his way to his ship.

Free now to press one hand to a cut to his abdomen, Kizaru looked to see the equally scuffed Aokiji. "I ran into Blackbeard and his guys," the usually lazy man explained, wiping away blood from his mouth. "Looks like he broke into Impel Down to release prisoners from Level 6. Taken care of."

Once more the island shook.

"Well, that's pretty much all the Warlords accounted for then," drawled Kizaru as if he was without a care in the world. "Time for us to make our exit."

Unsaid was: before this island is sunk.

 **-0-0-0-**

Cloak flaring dashingly in the wind, eyes glittering cold, steely focus to end the war, Shanks arrived at Marineford.

Leaping hundreds of meters over the ocean from ship, he landed on solid ground and searched for the most dramati—ahem! Most _decisive_ spot to intervene and end the fighting with his sheer Awesomeness.

.

.

.

"Benny? Is it already over?"

"Seems like it," mused Benn Beckman, his first mate. While a massive battle –or indeed, a brief war— had obviously happened here given all the destruction and raging fires, it was also eerily silent now.

"Huh, well, what now?"

"Well, we should probably find out what happened here. Because all that damage to Marine HQ—"

"Is not the Old Man's style, I know. Also, why's the island both deserted and still here? If Whitebeard won, it would be gone. If the Navy won, they'd be parading around."

"Guess we're heading to Sabaody then."

"Ah good, hopefully there'll be some reports we can freak out while we're there. Ooh, and Rayleigh! Got to check to be sure we've got some quality grog to share with him!"

"Right."

With that, they leapt back onto their ship. "Never mind, turn us around to Sabaody," ordered the Emperor.

"What happened?" called out one rookie.

"Dahahahahaha! Well when they heard the Red-Haired Pirates were making an appearance, they knew to hurry it up and finish before we got here and spanked them for misbehaving! Why you could say we even helped it end it without even appearing! Dahahahahaha!"

"YAHR!"

 **-0-0-0-**

In the end, only about half of the Navy elite gathered at Marineford managed to escape.

More may have perished if not for Usopp's sharp eyes catching sight of Oars Jr. trying to get up, which delayed Whitebeard's retribution of the fleeing enemy ships in favour of a rescue mission.

(Ace was tied up by Luffy's arms and legs to keep him from leaving Jinbe's watchful eye.)

As it was, the pirates decided to merely leave the island as it was without sinking it. They had more pressing concerns, and it would still stand as an example to the world.

Maybe even send some pictures of it around to help further drive the message across to some idiots who thought it was a good idea to mess with them.

The celebratory party that followed would last four days and four nights. It would only end only when Luffy and Ace finally managed to eat all the food, and when Nami and Zoro finally conceded defeat to Whitebeard in a drinking game which left only two mugs of sake left for the whole armada to fight over.

"Well, cheeky brat," grinned Whitebeard to Luffy. The Emperor was laying back in bed, medical instruments festooning him, with Chopper doing his best to help as well. Trafalgar Law had been recruited as well while he was still drunk with joy over Doflamingo's death, with the old man's heart having been removed from his body, dosed with painkillers, and now receiving surgery from several nurses.

Yes, Whitebeard's heart was currently being held in a vice while attractive ladies in pink nurse miniskirts, leopard print pantyhose's, and high heels were going over it with needles and threat, scalpels, and syringes.

(Luffy was the only one who was pretending to not be disturbed by it all—even Law and Whitebeard were pointedly looking elsewhere.)

"Do you and your fellow brats want to join my crew?"

"No thanks," burped Luffy, still swollen like a balloon. Given how much food he had eaten, and how he was not in a crisis, he was taking his time digesting it. "Would make it awkward if I have to beat you later in becoming the Pirate King."

"Luffy!" cried an aghast if unsurprised Ace. Ace knew that Luffy will say that. He half hoped somebody like Marco will ask him if his brother was serious, so he could answer with 'deadly.'

"What? It's true!"

"Well then, what if you're our guests for a while then, so you can become tough enough to survive the New World."

"No thanks, I've got another idea."

"Oh?"

 **-0-0-0-**

"HEY HANCOCK! CAN WE STAY HERE A WHILE!?"

 **-0-0-0-**

In the end a compromise was needed. Hancock was all for having seven men stay on the island (even if she was strangely reluctant to have two women join them, tending to glare Death at Nami and Robin whenever she actually acknowledged their existence) if that included Luffy, yet the laws of the nation were the laws, and they clearly said no men.

First Law of Amazon Lily: No men.

Second Law of Amazon Lily: We really mean no men.

Third Law of Amazon Lily: Beauty is power.

Sanji was all for staying on the island of course, except the others were honestly concerned his nosebleeds would kill him.

Fortunately Rayleigh intervened, and carted most of the men off to a nearby island he knew, where he spent his days –literally— beating skills into Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro. Brook was given meditative advice though, allowing himself to delve deeper and deeper into the power of his Devil Fruit—when he was not running and screaming for life from the local wildlife . . .

Chopper remained on Amazon Lily because he was technically a reindeer, and had zero sex drive towards Human women anyways. He was especially fascinated by the medical treatments that let the locals reproduce without any men.

Nami and Robin worked their way through the surprisingly detailed library about the New World that Kuja Pirates had pillaged. While not studying, they were fighting for their lives against the rest of the female warriors, honing their fighting techniques.

(It took them an embarrassingly long time to realize Hancock was jealous of them.)

Franky and Usopp actually remained just off of Amazon Lily, where Franky was helping to teach how to manage and care for the massive new ships, since their design was a bit foreign to the Kuja Pirates. The onboard workshops were also invaluable for the duo to study and reverse-engineer the Pacifista corpses they had nabbed.

Luffy had promised Ace they would be back on the seas in two years, and it would be a radically different crew of Straw Hat Pirates ready to claim the One Piece!

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **For those whose memories are hazy, the Fishman Pirate lieutenant Kuroobi tried fighting Sanji by dragging him underwater to drown him. An incident that the Straw Hats present would have vividly remembered, while also cause momentary confusion for the enemy, as opposed to "Sanji! Underwater!" or something like that. Or take longer to explain.**

 **.**

 **I strongly recommend the fics "Three," by Tsume Yuki, and "A Little Observation," by Tobalerone.**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


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